Amherst Magazine Lawrence Weiss '62

From The Olio

Deceased June 1, 2018

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In Memory

Larry Weiss passed away June 1, 2018 after a long battle with Leukemia. Larry served with me for many years as co-agent for our class of '62 Annual Fund drive. Larry enjoyed contacting our classmates and coaxing some dollars for the Annual Fund, culminating with our victory over the Williams Class of '62 for the highest giving percentage during our respective 50^th Reunions. Attendees at our 50^th Reunion enjoyed two kegs of local beer at the expense of our Williams counterparts.

Larry was a generous supporter of the College, particularly through his establishment of the Lawrence and Suzanne Weiss '62 Fund for the support of the Amherst Center for Russian Culture. Because of his commitment to Amherst and his recognition of the extraordinary benefits which the newly established Amherst Center for Russian Culture would bring to the life of the College, Larry started this Fund on the occasion of his 30^th reunion at Amherst College. The Fund is used to support conferences, lectures, exhibits, or other educational activities of the Center, or to support fellowship or other stipends for visiting scholars and lecturers making use of the Center and enhancing the educational experiences of the undergraduates at Amherst.

Larry came to Amherst from South Side High School on Long Island. I met Larry freshman year when he was selling parkas to naïve freshmen like myself who had no idea of what a New England winter was like. Thus began a 60-year friendship which included fellow Theta Xi members and classmates Rich Siegler, Irwin Buchwald, Ralph Myrow and our respective spouses.

Larry is probably best remembered as an exceptional jazz pianist who over the years enjoyed playing with our classmates, among others Ed Johnson, Fred Rogers and Larry Beck, and also Dick Klein '61 and Dave Lahm '63. Indeed Larry met his lovely wife Suzanne while playing piano at a summer resort. Larry, Rich Siegler and myself went on to attend Harvard Law School following which Larry practiced real estate law for several years. Larry eventually left law to join his father in the construction and crane rental industries, becoming a highly respected leader in the field.

As his son Rob '91 recalls: "I was blessed to have worked side-by-side with my dad for over 26 years, and I cherished every minute of it. To my father, it was important to give back to the industries in which he worked, and he did this in so many ways. In addition to leading our local Subcontractors Trade Association, he was past president of Allied Building Metal Industries, a group that represents the interests of NYC steel erectors, and chairman of their marketing wing, the Steel Institute of New York. He also served as chairman of the Building Trades Employers Association, president of the Building Stone & Precast Contractors Association, and trustee of the benefit funds for Ironworkers Locals 40, 361 and 197."

In addition to his son and wife, Larry is survived by his daughter Liz and six grandchildren. His jazz improvisations will be greatly missed at our future reunions.

Jeff Epstein '62
Rob Weiss '91