Dad’s Tribute
Larry Joseph Barfuss
October 13, 1949 – June 5, 2014
Given by his daughter, Jennifer LaRue Barfuss Dastrup
at his funeral held Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Larry Joseph Barfuss
October 13, 1949 – June 5, 2014
Given by his daughter, Jennifer LaRue Barfuss Dastrup
at his funeral held Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Watching
our Dad fight his battle with pulmonary fibrosis has been one of the most
difficult things my family has experienced together. Standing here today, I along with my siblings
want to share how much we realize how fortunate we are to have him as our
Father. The right words are hard to express his influence in our life.
It is through his example that we learned to be the adults and parents we are
today.
At
this time, as a family we have been blessed to reminisce about his life, laugh
about the funny times, cry over the sad times and come to understand the path
that Heavenly Father had laid out for Dad and our family.
In
John 13:15 Jesus Christ tells us, “For I have given
you an example, that ye should do
as I have done to you.” In this life we are to follow Christ and live our lives
as he lived his. Throughout our lives, we have seen our dad emulate Christ in so
many ways.
The
Family, A Proclamation to the World says, “By
divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and
righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and
protection for their families. This was
our dad. He worked hard to provide for our family. We always said he could sell
ice to an Eskimo and get a deal on anything. We always felt like we had what we
needed. In each position he held, the people he came in contact with felt like
they were dealing with a friend that would take care of them.
Dad spent a lot of
time in his garage. It was his sanctuary,
a place where he could tinker around, work on projects and a place to store his
stuff. It was a place that a neighbor
could come and just hang out with him for a while and have a great conversation
with him. For a period of time, he
refurbished and sold used bikes. Appropriately
he called his little business, Larry’s Spokes and Jokes. However, no matter how much he put in that
garage, he always made enough room for mom to park. She never had to park in the driveway.
Just as our Savior
served, Dad spent much of his life serving those around him. His favorite service in the church was
working with the young men. He loved
being around them. He helped them
accomplish goals and solve problems while just having fun. I can’t imagine how many kayaks have been
built and repaired with Dad’s help.
If anyone needed
help, Dad was the first to step up. No matter what time of day or where he was,
he made himself available. Whenever we
had a problem, we would call him and he would be available. When Jared and I lived in Arizona, Dad flew
down to visit. We made a road trip out
to San Diego to help my Aunt Becky and Uncle Andy with a car repair. When we arrived home, our transmission went
out. In true “Larry Barfuss” form, Dad
flew home on a Sunday and on Monday, he showed up back in Tucson, in a pickup
with a working transmission in the back.
He arranged with an auto shop to switch them out and paid for the work
to be done. Who does that? Our Dad!
The Proclamation also says, “Parents have a sacred duty
to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical
and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe
the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.”
Growing up, Dad
expected us to get good grades, go to church, know how to work on a car, have a
job and earn our own money. He was serious about this. Chris learned this the hard way after getting
a 3.45 grade point average one semester.
Because it wasn’t a 3.5 GPA, he lost his car for the summer while still
making the car and insurance payments.
As Larry’s children, we also learned at young age that anything can be
fixed with duct tape, WD40® and Bondo®.
Dad’s ingenuity
sometimes got the best of him. One of
our favorite things to talk about from our childhood is how each one of us at
one point in our lives helped tow beater cars home for him. It started as early
as age 7 or 8 being in a car that wouldn't run, being pulled by dad in the car
ahead of us. He got mad a couple of times because we burned up the brakes. What else could you expect from a kid behind
the wheel for the first time? Mom has
just recently heard these stories for the first time and isn’t too happy about
it.
In 1 Peter 3:8 it
says, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another.” There is no doubt that Dad was full of
compassion for those around him. We all
have our special thing that we used to do with Dad. When we were little it would be the slobbery
kisses on our nose and when we were older, it was the time we spent with him
going to get a Diet Coke or a shake from Big B’s. He had a way of making you feel special and
important.
His grandkids were
his greatest joy. He did little things to make each grandchild to feel special.
He was the first to call to babysit. He
would make the effort to go to their activities, fix their broken things and
buy them treats. He would check on them
through a text, call or visit. We have
no doubt that he will always be with them.
Dad’s sister, Stacie said it best. “Larry loved being a grandpa and
would've done anything for his grandkids! Playing with them brought out the kid
in himself."
My dad found his
happiness in organizing the next big event and creating traditions. John 15:11
says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be full.” As a
family, we had so much fun taking time for snowmobiling, boating, kayaking and
road trips. This was important to Dad
and he worked hard to make this all happen.
He made sure that every year as a family we cheered at the Murray 4th
of July Parade, went to the Festival of Trees, drove Christmas Street, and read
the nativity story on Christmas Eve.
In the last 10
years he was determined not to let his sickness get in the way of living life
the way he wanted to live it. There were
bumps in the road over the years, but he would always bounce back. We expected
this time to be no different. It wasn’t.
He did the greatest bounce back ever and now can live without suffering.
In describing the final hours our
father’s life, Erica said… “Our family's story can be told with the analogy of
a painting. The brushstrokes of our lives sometimes took us in crazy
directions, color crashing into color. The wonderful experiences - and
there were many - were colors that were mixed gently together to create a
harmony of new hues. But sometimes the brushstrokes were angry slashes, the
paintbrush moving quickly and deliberately across the canvas. Sometimes
all we were staring at was a conglomeration of murkiness and
messiness. It was difficult - sometimes for decades - to see beyond
the blur of experiences that were all the time part of the bigger
picture. But, now, as the Master puts down His paintbrush and says,
"It is finished," we can step back and see the Masterpiece that He
has created through all of this. It is glorious. It is beautiful.”
Everyone, please take
a great big breath to honor such an amazing man.
Jennifer LaRue · Jessica Ann · Erica Marie · Emily Diane
Christopher George · Nickolas James
Barfuss
Christopher George · Nickolas James
Barfuss
