Larry O'Rear was born in Atlanta, Cass County, Texas, to Horace Clinton O'Rear and Grace Mae (Collins) O'Rear. Horace worked for Humble Oil and Refining Company in the oil field, so Larry moved around quite a lot as a boy. From Atlanta, the family went to New London, then to Kingsville, Victoria, Corpus Christi, and Falfurrias, all in Texas. Larry graduated from Falfurrias High School in 1948, and entered Abilene Christian College that fall. He graduated "cum laude" from ACC in 1952, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and a Minor in Mathematics.
In 1954, Larry moved to Alice, Texas, and took a teaching job at William Adams High School. Larry taught Math and Science courses at William Adams, and later at the newly-built Alice High School, for 24 years. Even after he left full-time teaching, education was always a big part of his life.
While in Alice, Larry met, fell in love with, and married Bettie Bennett. They met at the Sixth and Adams Church of Christ, and were married there on July 27, 1956. They had five sons:
Mark Nolan O'Rear
Wesley Dean O'Rear
Paul Harold O'Rear
David Bennett O'Rear
Clinton Marvin O'Rear
After teaching high school for 24 years (with one year off early in his career to further his own education), Larry retired from full-time teaching in 1979. In the course of those 24 years, he touched the lives of countless hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. He loved teaching and he loved his students, and it was obvious to all who knew him.
Larry left teaching to begin working full-time as a Division Sales Manager for World Book Encyclopedia. As a teacher, he was sold on the value of families having their own set of encyclopedias in the home as a study tool for the children. He and Bettie moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, in September 1980, where Larry worked for World Book until 1984.
In 1984, Larry accepted a position as Vice President with Phoenix-Lamar, a computer cable manufacturing company in Austin, Texas, which had been started by a long-time friend and former student of his, Russell Kinningham. Larry and Bettie moved to nearby Georgetown, Texas, with their youngest son Clint. Larry remained in Georgetown and continued working for Phoenix-Lamar until his death in December of 1989.
Probably the two most profound characteristics of Larry O'Rear's life were his love for the Lord and his love for other people.
Larry was a devoted Christian. He taught Bible classes, preached on numerous occasions, and served as an elder in three different congregations of the churches of Christ at different times in his life. He and Bettie instilled in all five of their sons a deep sense of love for the Lord and His word and His church; a deep sense of commitment to right principles and moral values; and a clear understanding of the importance of being a loving and committed husband and father. He left in his five sons a legacy of faith.
Larry loved people. He loved children, especially babies. He was
frequently seen after church searching the crowd for babies to hold. And
babies loved him right back! In fact, he had almost a magical touch with
babies. He could make a baby stop crying even when the baby's own parents
were unsuccessful. There was something about this big, loveable giant of a
man (he stood six-feet-five-inches tall) that somehow gave babies an
instinctive sense of safety and security in his arms. It was only fitting,
then, that he should be blessed with grandchildren. At the time of his
death, Larry and Bettie had six grandchildren, all of whom lovingly called
him "Paw Paw".