Larry Ellis Cothren, Jr.

I've started and stopped this post so many times, realizing that publishing this post on our blog will make it even more truer than it already is and not quite able to find the right words for the enormity of our loss.

On Sunday, April 24, 2011, Larry's dad, Larry Ellis Cothren, Jr., passed away from an apparent heart attack.  He was 47 and had so much more life to live.  We had no warning and no reason to believe that when we saw him on Thursday, April 21, 2011 alive and well, that we would be seeing him for the last time.  His life was taken from us instantly and our lives will never be the same.

Larry, Jr. will be missed by so many people.  He was a great son, father, brother and grandfather.  He took pride in his kids and grandkids.  And my heart aches for the two boys that will never know how much their grandfather adored them.  We are blessed that we moved back to Huntsville a year ago, allowing a stronger relationship to be built between Alex and Larry, Jr.  We are even happier that while God took him from us way too soon, he was able to meet, hold and love on his newest grandson!

I have watched my husband for two weeks try to come to terms with all of this and I know that he never will - there will always be questions that he will never have answers to.  I have watched him in awe as he spoke at the funeral, never more honored and proud to be by his side.  I have seen him hold his boys a little tighter these past few weeks and have felt an indescribable amount of love for him.  I wish that I could take him pain away from him.  He is walking down a road that is both familiar and scary for us.  Unlike most, we know the grief and pain that is in front of us and it is not an easy thing to face.

Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

We love you Dad and Grandpa!  You will forever live on in our hearts and memories!

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Below is the obituary posted on both the funeral home website and the Huntsville Times.


Larry Ellis Cothren, Jr. age 47, of Lacey Springs, passed away on Sunday April 24, 2011 at his residence.

Funeral services will be on Thursday April 28, 2011 at 1 pm in the chapel of Spry Funeral Home of Huntsville with burial to follow in Huntsville Memory Gardens. The family will receive friends on Wednesday April 27, 2011 from 5 pm until 8 pm at the funeral home.


Mr. Cothren is survived by his children, Larry Cothren, III and wife Sarah of Owens Cross Roads, and Claudia Cothren of Pennsylvania; his parents, Larry Cothren, Sr. and wife Jean of Huntsville, and Wanda Kyzer and husband Bill of Lewisburg, TN; his brother, Kevin Cothren of Valhermosa Springs; his sister, Kim Ethridge and husband Robert of Lewisburg, TN; his grandsons, Alexander and Jaxson Cothren; his nephews, Cody and Evan Ethridge; and his special friend, Teresa Church of Lewisburg, TN.


Larry grew up in Lacey Springs and graduated high school from Brewer in 1982. After high school, he joined the Air Force where he spent over 20 years until he retired. While in the Air Force, he spent time in New Mexico, Korea, Alabama, and Florida. After retiring from the Air Force Larry moved back home to Alabama to be closer to his family. He enjoyed spending time with all of his family whether it was wood working with his Dad, visiting his Mom and sister in Tennessee, canoeing with his brother, spending time with his son and daughter, or spoiling his grandkids. Larry was an avid NASCAR and Alabama Football fan. He never missed a race or game, either in the stands cheering, or watching on TV. Larry was a loving son, father, brother, and grandfather. 


Larry will be missed. We Love you.


Spry Funeral Home of Huntsville is assisting the family

Christmas Pictures

As much as I love Christmas, I have never had as much fun as we did this year! Alex was absolutely amazed by the tree, lights and presents. When he first woke up, Larry went in and got him and tried to keep him occupied in his room while I set up the webcam, video camera and lights on the tree. Alex heard me talking and when we finally let him out of his room, instead of running towards the presents and tree he ran straight for Mommy! I gave him hugs, kisses and showed him the tree - I have never seen his eyes get so big!

Alex ran right up to his presents and started opening them right away! It was priceless watching him run from present to present, smiling and laughing! It took nearly 1.5 hours to open all of his presents - between opening them (which involved taking off every scrap of paper on EACH and EVERY present) and taking them out of the packaging to play with them!

We are so blessed that Alex is a part of our lives. He makes every day brighter, bring more happiness and laughter to our life than we could have ever imagined and is the light of our life. But this year, watching his celebrate the wonder of Christmas and seeing the joy and delight through his 2 year old eyes, we fell even more in love with him!

Here are a few pictures from our morning:

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Grandpa Larry and Aunt Claudia came down to visit a few days after Christmas and brought Alex another present to open! He got a NASCAR Racecar Helmet that makes noise when you put it on! Alex loves it! He also loves to make other people wear his helmet, slam the eye piece shut and say "bye-bye"! Very funny and very cute!

Here are a few pictures of Alex opening his helmet from Grandpa Larry and Aunt Claudia:

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Aunt Sheena also came to visit after Christmas and she brought with her more presents! Alex loved unwrapping and getting a HUGE Diego ball pit from Aunt Sheena! After he unwrapped it, I told her that it would be the perfect present to keep at her apartment after we move to Huntsville :) Afterall, he does need presents there, too!

Here are some pictures of Alex opening and enjoying the ball pit:

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Test Pilot School Graduation

After 11 months of intense schooling, a rigorous flight schedule, many reports, one trip out west, one trip to England, one huge DT2 project, many sleepless nights and more stress that I ever realized was possible...it is official...Larry is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School.

Tonight was the graduation ceremony and Larry received his diploma!

Graduation was held at the Daughtery Center in Lexington Park, Maryland. The Graduate was escorted by both his dad and I. He had pretty good dates, if I do say so myself! There was a cocktail hour when we first arrived and we were served champagne by the instructors. After the cocktail hour, we were served dinner (both Larry's had steak and I had a chicken dish). Once dinner was over, we listened to the guest speaker, Mike Coats, tell us about his NASA and TPS experiences. Finally, the students of Class 136 were called up individually and handed their diplomas. It was a proud moment for both the student and their families! A very sweet moment in the evening is when the students presented their spouses with a rose (bottle of wine for the two gentleman spouses) and a "Certificate of Appreciation". It was nice to be reminded that not only were we celebrating the students, but we were also celebrating the people in their lives that made this past year happen! We ended the evening socializing with the other students and families.

At the end of the evening, we said our "good-byes" to many of the other students. It was a bittersweet moment. As excited as I am to be getting back home to Alabama, I am very sad to be leaving some of the people we have met. I think because TPS is such an intense situation, they students all grew a close bond. I know that regardless of where we go, we have made friends for life through this experience.

I am so excited for Larry and this accomplishment. It has been stressful, but he had such determination and drive to succeed. Proud doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about the situation. He amazes me on a daily basis with his intellect, his perserverance, his dedication and his success. He strives to be and do the best and often isn't satisfied with just "okay"! I was honored tonight to stand by his side!

Here are a few pictures from the evening...we hope you enjoy them!

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Here are a few pictures from our cell phones:

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Alex's Cool Jacket

Last year for Christmas, Grandpa Larry got Alex a green jacket (like Larry's) and had patches put on it. It is a 2T and will be perfect for this winter. Last week Larry took it someplace and had three additional patches put on the back. He had a Blackhawk patch, the TPS patch and his class patch put on! We let Alex try it on when he brought it home and Alex LOVED it! The zipper has a little airplane on it, so he kept saying "airpane". He is also really into pockets right now and we later found one of his puzzle pieces in one of the pockets :)

Here are a few pictures of Alex in his super-cool new jacket:

The back of the jacket: