Larry Henke Lampkin

Larry H. Lampkin, a longtime Gardnerville resident, passed away on Tuesday November 26, 2024 at home in Gardnerville, NV. His passing was unexpected. He was 74 years-old.

Larry Henke Lampkin was born May 18, 1950 in Fort Madison, Iowa. He was the first of four children born to Neal R. and Roberta J. (Henke) Lampkin. As a young boy, Larry lived in Burlington, IA with the family. In August of 1962, the Lampkin Family moved to Washington, IA. He went through middle school and high school there graduating with the Washington High School Class of 1968.

Larry led an interesting life. He was an active athlete for the Washington Demons Football Team and the Demon Track Team. He was part of the Washington YMCA High School Division Swim Team that dominated Iowa as State Champions three consecutive years in ’66 - ‘67’ and ’68. After graduation, Larry attended Centerville Community College and later, he attended the University of Northern Iowa on a Swimming Scholarship. He held every Backstroke record at UNI for 20 years after he graduated in 1973. He was invited to participate and compete in the U.S Olympic Team tryouts in 1972 at Springfield, MA.

At 15 years-old, Larry started working part-time at Hy-Vee Food Store in Washington. When he moved to Cedar Falls to attend college, he stayed working for Hy-Vee eventually working at Cedar Falls, IA, Shenandoah IA, Des Moines IA and ultimately, he managed stores at Urbandale, IA and Des Moines for Hy-Vee.

Larry left Hy-Vee in 1983 and accepted an offer with Fleming Foods Inc. as Vice-President of Retail Sales. A later move to California came when Larry accepted a job offer with Fedco Inc. in the Southern California area as Vice-President of Liquor and Beverages. In the late 1990’s Larry accepted an offer from Walmart and with Walmart, he quickly moved into a Store Manager position at Palmdale, CA. A few short years later, when an opening came at Carson City, NV near Lake Tahoe for Store Manager, Larry was selected for the position. He successfully managed the store there until his retirement 6 years ago. Larry enjoyed driving a School Bus for the local school system for the past few years. His fun-loving personality fit well with the parents of the children riding his bus each day. He loved the kids and he always had a fun story about something that happened on the bus. Larry loved people. He did some work for Aramark Inc. at Lake Tahoe. He drove people to and from destinations around Lake Tahoe including Dinner Cruises on the lake.

Larry is married to Rachel Lampkin and together, they have six children (Sheila, Gus, Alicia, Andrew and Kate, Gina, Erica and Roger). They have eleven grandchildren. He was the center of all their lives. They have an active family. Larry will be missed by all.

Larry is also survived by his mother, Roberta J Lampkin of Washington, IA, brother Rick and his wife Jane of Fort Myers, FL, brother Jeff and his wife Renae of Pleasant Hill, IA, his sister Ann C Williams and her husband Jim of Washington, IA. He also leaves many nieces and nephews.

Larry was preceded in death by his father, Neal R Lampkin and an infant daughter, Lindsay. He was also preceded by his paternal grandparents John and Ola Lampkin, his maternal grandparents Kenneth C and Bessie Henke, Sr.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in memory of Larry Lampkin to the Douglas County Swim Center. Larry was an avid swimmer in his youth and in his later years, he was a dedicated member of the Douglas County community as a bus driver for the school system. Your contributions will honor his memory by supporting adaptive swim programs for children, as well as swim lessons for families struggling to find the means to pay for the lessons. Larry came from a swimming family and would love to know we are paying it forward in his memory.

Donations can be dropped off at the Carson Valley Swim Center located at 1600 Hwy 88, Minden, NV 89423 or mailed to the Carson Valley Swim Center at P.O. Box 1972, Minden, NV 89423.

Please notate "In Memory of Larry Lampkin" on all donations.