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The Lives He Touched …
To say he touched a number of lives would be a huge injustice. Some days I don’t know how he did it. The names my dad remembered, the politicians he scolded, the victims, the advocates the family he loved. Beneath the gruff exterior, was the heart of a warrior and I’m proud to share with you the stories being told:
The Sun-Sentinel/Chicago Tribune staff writer Craig Davis (relation now by friendship) Larry Davis Waged A Relentless Race For A Mesothelioma Cure
Our friends at Simmons Law wrote Keep Running: Remembering Larry Davis Mesothelioma Advocate
The wonderful woman who traveled to be with us at his funeral and leader at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Linda Reinstein’s heartfelt Saying Goodbye to Larry.
Longtime supporters at the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation reached out just before their amazing annual symposium, I have no idea how they even had time, by saying We Will Miss You Larry and by creating a Tribute page for donations in his honor.
Our friends at Sokolove Law in Massachusetts Remember Larry Davis; A Pioneer, Friend and Fellow Activist in the Fight Against Mesothelioma.
And of course his many, many friends in Florida who he ran with, drank with and told the best of stories with. The Runner’s Edge Foundation has named a scholarship in his honor and this will create yet another lasting legacy.
His obituary listings are here, here and here.
Please feel free to let me know of any other stories you may see out there. It helps me get through these difficult times and hopefully it will help you with the loss of this outstanding man as well.
My love,
Courtney A Davis
Donations to the Larry Davis Immunotherapy Grant:
I’m sorry it took so long … click here to see the Larry Davis Tribute page and to make a donation in his honor for the Grant named for him.
Many thanks, Courtney Davis
Larry Davis waged relentless race for mesothelioma cure Pompano Beach runner raised thousands for medical research in fight against deadly cancer caused by asbestos exposure
Sun Sentinel full article here
By Craig Davis, Staff Writer
6:34 p.m. EDT, July 5, 2012
The emails always concluded with: “Believe in a Cure – believe in yourself.”
It was through unyielding belief that the most determined runner I’ve ever known pushed back the inevitable finish line beyond all measure of medical probability.
Doctors gave Larry Davis six months when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. That was six years ago this week, and countless miles until the aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos finally overtook him Monday. He was 67.
Along the way, the Pompano Beach resident raised nearly $80,000 toward medical research for an elusive cure through the Miles For Meso 8K Race in Boca Raton. And he took the fight for a complete ban of asbestos in the United States to Washington and everywhere he could find a forum, often at races he competed in throughout the country.
That indomitable spirit always came through in the emails. Such as the one in June 2011 when Davis detailed plans to compete in a Father’s Day triathlon with his daughter Courtney Davis near Raleigh, N.C. He was coming off a recent hospital stay and facing abdominal surgery later in the month.
“It is going to be a fantastic weekend and a great way to get in shape for major surgery,” he wrote. “Well, I am off for a 15-mile bike ride.”
Davis and Courtney completed the Three Little Pigs Triathlon together before he underwent surgery for the fifth time since his diagnosis.
“The bike that I had for him was really holding him back, so I gave him my bike because it was lighter a couple miles into the bike portion. I don’t know if I should have done that because he was kicking my butt on the run at the end,” Courtney said.
Throughout the ordeal of his illness, Davis trained and ran in numerous road races, from 5K to marathons, with wife Carol. An eight-time finisher in the Boston Marathon (personal best of 2:56), he accompanied her to Boston one last time in April to share the experience while she ran the race.
“I think that spirit of his is what kept him going for so long,” Carol Davis said.
Mesothelioma, which claimed celebrities Merlin Olsen, Steve McQueen and Warren Zevon, is a diabolical disease. Typically, patients survive six to 18 months after diagnosis, and only 7 percent Davis’ age last five years, according to a study.
Davis knew what he was up against — his father was also a meso victim. He faced his illness defiantly and on his own terms, shunning traditional treatments for a more holistic approach.
Most important, he kept running, 20 to 25 miles a week.
“I still believe that’s helped me as much as anything,” Davis told me in a 2010 interview. “What you get out of running is more than cardiovascular. It’s a whole mind-body connection. It helps build the immune system, and that’s key in fighting any disease. It’s not a cure, but it makes you stronger.”
In addition to the Miles For Meso race in February, Davis’ legacy will be a scholarship that has been established in his name through the Runner’s Edge Foundation. It will be awarded annually to a high school senior from Broward or Palm Beach counties devoted to running and community service.
“He was an inspiration to us all. He was a real road warrior, and he showed it in the latter stages of his life when he was struggling with the cancer,” said Tony Frost, a close friend and fellow member of the Boca Raton Road Runners. “We’ll never forget how he fought.”
Davis was outraged at our politicians for lack of action toward a complete ban of asbestos even as numerous other countries have done so, which he attributed to “greed and politics.” And he was frustrated with lack of progress in treating the disease.
So he kept running and believing that a cure is just around the corner, if not for him then for those following in his tracks.
Services for Larry Davis are noon Friday at Kraeer Funeral Home, 200 N. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach.
May There Be Rest And Peace …
As many of you may know, my father Larry Davis, passed away Monday morning July 2, 2012. He
moves on to a place free from the pain and sorrow of this world, finally.
For those of you who don’t know it was 6 years ago this week that dad had his first surgery, and not for the cancer we have all bonded through these last days. The doctors did not know he had an abdominal strand of Mesothelioma cancer. That first week was unlike any pain he’d ever experienced.
One year ago, in 2011, after he and I competed in a Father’s Day triathlon together, he went in for another surgery to remove the large tumors that had been growing for years. That surgery was not as successful as I, and maybe some others, would’ve liked. In August of 2011, one tumor or a series of tumors I do not know, grew so large that they blocked his bowel. My father was no longer able to eat.
In June of 2012 I got a call and was told he wouldn’t make it until Father’s Day, so I should come quickly. I did. All the while, his wife, never not by his side, tended to him.
This last month was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. As my father deteriorated I cried when no one could see for him and for this disease that was taking him from me. Something that could be prevented. Something that the US Congress could put a stop to going forward. There needs to be a complete ban on asbestos use all over the world, not just here in America.
And more importantly, there needs to be a cure so that all the of the people stricken with Mesothelioma now can find help before for it’s too late. It’s to late for my dad. But he worked his ass off to help support the movement. I hope you will join me and my family as we accept donations in my father’s honor to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s Larry Davis Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Research Grant. Your contributions will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
Also, his friends in Florida have set up another fund called the Larry Davis Scholarship. Please read more in my earlier post about how you can help fund a local FL high school graduate who loves to run, like my dad. For those of you interested in donating to this scholarship please go to either runningexpo.com or active.com.
I know you all feel the loss I do. And it is with heartfelt thanks to everyone for loving my father.
Sincerely, Courtney Ann Davis
Other tributes:
Action Against Asbestos 