Larry Dale Burns

Larry was born in Birmingham, AL on August 2nd, 1949 to Jean Ashmore and William Pless (“Bill”) Burns, and moved to Atlanta shortly thereafter so that his father could pursue a career in Ford’s Hapeville plant. Larry graduated from Lakeshore High School in College Park, GA, and then from the University of Georgia with a degree in Marketing.

While still a student at UGA, he followed a childhood friend into the commercial roofing business during the summers as a way to make some money while staying fit and getting a tan. After college, he found a position selling commercial roofing materials in Atlanta, and while working there he was one of the first to see the promise of the then-novel single-ply roofing systems.

In 1981, Larry co-founded CRS as a manufacturer’s rep firm focused on the promotion of single-ply roofing materials to specifiers and contractors. Within two years, CRS had acquired a warehouse and truck to better supply and support their customers, and this started the path towards what is today a regional commercial and residential distribution business led by his son Brett and daughter Caroline with over 200 employees in nine locations across Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.

Larry met his wife Ann Roberts Burns, a real estate broker, in 1977 when she showed him a house in Inman Park. They had their first date at a UGA football game that fall and celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary this April.

The recipe for success at CRS was very basic: “We want to have the best employees selling the best products to the best contractors.” The formula proved wildly successful, and provided Larry with the opportunity to change many hundreds of lives – by extending the credit lines that launched many customers’ businesses, or by giving a “second chance” to people with checkered pasts that he believed could still turn into great employees, or by simply providing countless families with a stable income to allow for a home purchase and a college education for their kids.

His employees at CRS would follow him to the ends of the earth (or drive a tractor trailer to Arizona and back, as the case might be). Larry fervently believed that grit and determination were as important as formal education or special training, though at the same time he happily helped many employees pay to attain degrees that would further their careers. Above all, Larry knew that any success he enjoyed would have been impossible without the support and dedication of his employees.

Larry’s commitment to CRS and its employees and customers was surpassed only by his love and devotion to his family. He was a constant presence at any game, recital, or swim meet in which his children or grandchildren took part, and he would respond glowingly to highlight videos when he couldn’t make it in-person. At family meals, his favorite conversational partners were his grandchildren, who would never fail to make him laugh. He was famous for offering his grandchildren ice cream, regardless of the time of day.

Larry enjoyed beachcombing at his home in Amelia Island, FL, was a skilled upland hunter, and was a rabid fan of the Georgia Bulldogs (a hereditary affliction he passed on to his children and grandchildren). Arranging large outings to UGA football games for his employees and customers and friends of his children was one of his favorite pastimes. In fact, it wasn’t unusual for him to take the lead in supplying UGA football tickets to a large group of his children’s friends (many he’d never met), but he knew a good opportunity to create Dawg fans for life when he saw one – all it took was a game Between the Hedges. He didn’t need a big outing, though; he was just as happy surrounded by friends and family in the seats he held for almost 50 years.

He was a proud former board member of American Wholesale (a distribution industry trade group), a past Treasurer of the Dynamo Swim Club, and was serving on the board of his condo association in Florida (overseeing roofing renovations, of course) at the time of his death. With Ann, he was an active parishioner of the Cathedral of Saint Philip, a member at the Capital City Club, and a leadership-level donor to the University of Georgia.

Survivors include his wife, Ann, daughter, Caroline (John Richmond), son, Brett (Sara), four grandchildren (Ash, Georgie, Annelise, and Claire), as well as one sister, Delores (Wayne Register), many cousins, and many decades-long friends.

A memorial service will be held at 10am on Friday, January 10th at the Cathedral of Saint Philip. The family would like to thank the many people who have reached out since Larry’s death to lend support and pass along fond memories and condolences.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the University of Georgia Foundation, and suggests either the Swimming and Diving Support Fund (81893000) or the Terry College Excellence Fund (85675000) as particularly worthy causes.