Long time Solomon’s Island resident, Lawrence J. Fitzpatrick (Larry), passed away unexpectedly on December 26, 2022.  He was the son of the late Daniel J. and Isabelle M. Fitzpatrick.  He is survived by his loving wife Karn, his brother Michael, sisters, Peg Prentice and Patty Fitzpatrick, as well as 6 nieces and nephews and 8 great nieces and nephews.

Family will receive friends on Thursday, December 29, 2022 from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. with a Memorial Service conducted by Deacon Chad Martin following at 11:30 a.m. at Rausch Funeral Home, 20 American Lane, Lusby, MD.  Reception immediately following in Solomon’s Island.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Solomon’s Mission Center; solomonsumchurch.org.

Larry’s Eulogy

Hello everyone and on behalf of all of Larry’s family, especially Karn and my 2 sisters, Peg and Patty; I want to thank all of you for being here today for Larry’s send off. As you may be thinking…that’s Larry’s brother??! Well, we are about as polar opposite as 2 brothers can be. Although we didn’t have a lot of contact with each other the past few years, we had a good-natured and friendly relationship and I’d like to share a few of my thoughts and reflections on Larry as well as recollections and fond memories from his extended family.

When Deacon Martin asked me on Tuesday to describe Larry, I told him that Larry was the “Bad Boy” in the family and definitely when he was in school. He went to Catholic grade school for 8 years and gave the nuns a real run for their money. He spent more time in Sister John Agnes, the principal’s, office then he did in the classroom. He also attended St. John’s Military High School in DC run by the Christian Brother’s and the US Army. He had the illustrious distinction of graduating as a senior private. Larry took pride that in 4 years he never gained any rank beyond buck private as this is a very difficult feat to accomplish. The senior privates usually consisted of ~5 graduating seniors who had bucked the system, been the class clowns and were always on the brink of being expelled. Our family was oh so proud of him when he marched across the stage to get his diploma wearing no socks with his ankles clearly visible under his uniform pants!

One of his “bad boy” stories I have to share is when he was 16 years old my father let him take his 1964 Ford Mustang out with his friends. A few hours later we got a call from a homeowner in Potomac saying there had been a bad car accident and that our Mustang was upside down in their front yard after rolling over 2x and tearing through their fence and hedges and that an ambulance had taken Larry to the hospital. My dad called the Emergency room and asked if he was dead. When they said “no”, he said good, because I’m going to kill him when I get there! Needless to say, Larry was grounded for quite a while. His famous excuse was that he sneezed going around a bend in the road but neglected to say that he was going 90mph at the time.

Larry earned his Associates Degree from Montgomery College while he was driving Red Top Cabs around Arlington, VA and DC. He eventually decided to open a Bar called Wheaton Tavern in Wheaton MD. I have some fun memories of him serving me and my underage High School buddies some beers on a few Friday nights. He and his 1^st wife, Janine, worked long hard hours at that bar and were successful but years of the bar scene had its impact on Larry. He went from Wheaton Tavern to working as a warehouse manager in Rockville for almost 30 years making the very long daily commute from Solomon’s. I don’t know how he did it except that he truly loved his life in Solomon’s and was willing to make the sacrifice in exchange for the lifestyle.

As all of you know much better that I do, Larry loved visiting the bars, making friends and enjoying the good life here. He really was a simple soul. He wanted to be home and rarely traveled for more than a night away. He was not into material things in the least. He cared about his family and friends. He faithfully made the round-trip to Colonial Beach, VA, where I live, to visit our mom every Sunday morning for the 7 years she was in the nursing home. He was always the 1^st to send out a holiday message to the whole family filled with emoji’s for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas or whatever the holiday was. My 4 daughters remember the earlier family get togethers when Larry would come for Christmas and immediately say “show me all your loot that Santa brought”! It didn’t matter if it was girlie stuff. I believe he may have contributed to their delinquency down in the basement sharing beers with them…but that was Larry, the life of the party and always looking for a good time with family and friends.

He met the love of his life, Karn, and married her 6 years ago. I can honestly say that Larry and Karn proved that opposites attract. I have never seen Larry so happy and so in love as he was with Karn. It seemed like an unlikely match to me but it certainly was a great fit. It is sad that Larry left us so soon but he always told me that he wanted to die with his boots on while having fun. If he was here right now, he’d be telling us to laugh and enjoy a party on him and that he’ll be waiting for us on the other side with a beer in hand! He’d also be saying…”Why the hell are you all dressed up? You should have your shorts and flip flops on!”

I hope you can all join us back at the Pier in Solomon’s to raise a glass to Larry and celebrate him in the way he would want us all to remember him!

Thank you again, if anyone else would like to say a few words or share a story, please feel free to. We look forward to seeing you back at one of his favorite haunts for lunch!