Larry Grant Britner passed away on Friday, September 23, 2022, due to complications of COPD.  He was born in Lorain, Ohio in 1940 to John and Edna Britner as one of ten children.  His parents fostered babies who he and his siblings helped to care for, instilling in them the qualities of nurture, empathy, and generosity at an early age.  He spent his formative years in St. Petersburg, Fl, which was still very wooded then, hunting rattlesnakes by Joe's Creek with his older brother, David.  Being smaller than most, he gained the nickname Pee Wee, which stayed with him throughout his life.  

He was a freshman at Northeast High School in the year it first opened and graduated there in 1958.  A few months later he joined the Marine Corps where he became a drill instructor.  He later served as an Army corpsman.  His stints took him to Japan, Germany, and the Vietnam War.  He married in 1962 and returned stateside in 1965 to start civilian life with his wife, Eva Sue, and baby daughter, Valarie.  Two years later they had a son, William.

In later life, he lost a leg to health issues.  Though his 40-year marriage to Eva Sue had ended by then, they remained close.  He found love again with his new wife, Luise in 2010, after working together to help organize their 50th high school reunion.  Always having a knack for research, he had an uncanny ability to find lost classmates and continued to help each subsequent year's classes with their reunions.  

Seldom at a loss for words, he was known for his long stories and almost breathless gift of gab.  In his motorized wheelchair, he could be seen all over downtown, wearing his Vietnam veteran hat, handing out American flags, and turning strangers into friends.

At 5' 3" amd 120 pounds, he never let himself feel small.  He is survived by his brother, Jerry, his sister, Doris, 2 children, 8 grandchildren, 11 great-grand children and many others.  His brother, David, passed two months before him.