Mr. Laurence John Long

Larry was, first and foremost, a family man. He was also a devout Catholic, who valued humor, hard work, and his Irish heritage.

He was born in 1936 in New York City to Alexander Long and Anna Ward. Larry’s sister, Alexandra, was born four years later. He graduated from Chaminade High School and later received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Yale University. He married Alvina De Lazzari of Wilmington, Delaware in 1961. The two returned to New Haven, where Larry completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, spending a memorable year as a Fulbright Scholar in Padua, Italy. Upon their return to the U.S., Larry worked as an engineer for Dupont Chemical Co. in Wilmington, Delaware.

With an engineering education that, as he was fond of saying, “teaches you how to think,” Larry entered the financial industry as a research analyst with Mason & Co. in Newport News, Virginia. In 1970, Larry and Alvina moved to Carderock Springs in Bethesda, Maryland, when Mason & Co. merged to become Legg Mason.

In 1989, Larry co-founded The Washington Service, a financial information company, and served as the President until his passing on April 27, 2018. Larry treated his employees as an extension of his family; he mentored and guided many a college graduate on their professional and personal paths.

He was a loving father of six, who, as he often said, presided over a “benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy.” He will be dearly missed by his six children: Laurence (Leanne), Alvina, Elisa (Jim), Tara (Bryan), Timothy (Laura), and Christopher. He had varying degrees of success as the head of “Grandpa’s Charm School” for his nineteen grandchildren: Hans Christian, Michah, Timothy, Juliana, Ada, Kathryn, Christina, Gianna, Jonas, Lauren, Quinn, Reese, Reilly, Tyler, Teagan, Heath, Devin, Haley, and Fiona.

The family will host a reception in celebration of Larry’s life on Friday, May 4, from 6-8:30 p.m. at Normandie Farm, 10710 Falls Road, Potomac, Maryland. On Saturday, May 5, visitation will be at 1 p.m., the funeral mass at 2 p.m., and the reception from 3-4:30 p.m. All Saturday events will be at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, 9222 Kentsdale Drive, Potomac, Maryland 20854.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.), https://some.org/give/, where Larry volunteered for many years by clicking on link below.