People
Collection for person entities.
Pages
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- Lawrence "Larry" Wilkinson
- Larry was born in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1922 to Harold and Mary (Thompson) Wilkinson. He grew up in Syracuse, New York, and had one brother, Robert, who predeceased him. He attended Mt. Herman School and Wesleyan University prior to enlisting in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He moved to Los Angeles with his wife Elizabeth (Betty) where they raised their three children: Suzanne (deceased), Steven and Jan. He worked in construction management for architects before moving to Telluride in 1971. An avid skier his whole life, Larry found his true home in the mountains in Telluride. He continued to ski every year until he was 95. He was a proud member of the 90+ Ski Club and wore his patch with honor. He took great joy participating in the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program as a volunteer and then later in his life he continued his passion for skiing with the support of the amazing TAS Staff. He also loved hiking, fishing, hunting and was an accomplished photographer. Larry and his wife, Betty, shared a vision to create a public library for Telluride. It began modestly in a Quonset Hut behind the community center in 1972 and progressed to the old stone jail. Then with an addition built on to the jail it was dedicated as the Wilkinson Public Library. Finally with the passage of a bond measure to fund the construction of the current 20,000 square foot library it was dedicated in 2000 as the “The Elizabeth and Lawrence Wilkinson Library” in honor of their vision and longterm commitment. For many years he was a board member and president of the Library Board as well as being involved in the regional Pathfinder Library System. He always said that it was the dedication, volunteers and support of community of Telluride that made it happen. The library staff and people of Telluride have made the Library what it is today, not only a five star library but also an amazing community center. Following Betty’s death, Larry married Sally Miller in 1993 and they moved to Montrose in 1998. Larry continued to be involved with the library in Telluride. He was also passionate about singing. In Montrose, Larry loved singing with the Black Canyon Barbershop Chorus. He was a proud member for 20 years. Larry is survived by his wife, Sally; and his children: Steven (wife Eva); and Jan (husband Robert). He is also survived by three grandchildren: Stafford Davis; Steven Skerritt Davis; and Sarah Wilkinson.
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- Lawrence Amicarella
- Born in Italy, Lawrence spent his life working as a coal miner in Weld County, Colorado.
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- Lawrence Jitsuo "Larry" Azuma
- A Japanese-American and World War II veteran. He was born in Hawaii, where he was orphaned but later adopted. His Social Security records list his parents as Jusuke Azuma and Yuki Kinoshita, but it is unknown whether or not those are his birth parents or adoptive parents. He attended a local community language school for 12 years. He was drafted by the US Army in April of 1941, inducted at Schofield Barracks, and transferred to the combat engineer corps. He was on guard duty at the time of the Pearl Harbor bombing, on December 7, 1941. After the war began, Japanese soldiers in his unit were separated and transferred to the Hundred Infantry Battalion at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. Due to his linguistic abilities he was then transferred to Camp Savage, Minnesota, where he attended a military intelligence school. He was promoted to corporal, assigned to the Second Signal Corp Division, and placed at the Vint Hills Farm Station outside of Washington D.C. He married Kiwako Yoshida of Delta County, Colorado on June 13, 1959. US Census records indicate that she worked as an assistant to the Delta High School principal prior to their marriage. She was born in California and was interred along with her family during the Japanese Internment of World War II.