William Larry Gregory

Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Astoria

Oct. 18, 1950 — Oct. 6, 2016

William Larry Gregory, 65, passed away peacefully at his Astoria home after a series of chronic, serious illnesses. He was born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and grew up in his beloved desert Southwest, graduating from high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, and earning his Ph.D at Arizona State University.

He was professor of psychology at New Mexico State University for nearly three decades, retiring in 2006. Upon relocating to Oregon, his other beloved location, he worked as a senior investigator at the Helfgott Research Institute in Portland, and as an independent statistical consultant.

He was married to the former Janice Russell for 15 years, and they raised two sons, Siusla, who lives in Taos, New Mexico, and Ariel of Missoula, Montana. He married Karen Kaufman in Portland, Oregon in 1995, and since 2013 they have been raising their son, Dexter, in Astoria. Other survivors include a grandson, Merin Gregory of Taos; two sisters, Vernalyn Andrews of Las Cruces, New Mexico and Holly Stewart of Mesa, Arizona; a niece; two nephews; numerous friends and colleagues; and his dog, Violet.

In the avalanche of condolences received, one longtime colleague and friend most accurately summed up the kind of person Larry was: “Larry was a wonderful, endlessly fascinating, hyper-intelligent, funny person.” He adored his children and grandson and was proud of their intellect, creativity and accomplishments. He was the kind of father who would talk to his kids for hours about music, art, philosophy, politics and general funny, weird, absurd topics.

In 2013 he set off on a round-the-world trip with his son, Dexter, and had visited every continent except Antarctica. He will live on in our hearts, and will never be forgotten. As another friend wrote, “his intelligent, gentle and compassionate demeanor enriched our lives.”

A celebration of life will be held at KALA in Astoria Saturday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m.