John Larry Strawbridge

Durham, NC –John “Larry” Strawbridge, age 78, passed into Glory in his home surrounded by loving family on 23 July 2024. He was born on 15 July 1946 to the late Nelson and DeEtte Strawbridge of Durham.

Larry was raised in Durham and graduated from Durham High School in 1964, lettering in three sports. He was a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968. He was a member of the Carolina Glee Club, touring through Europe and appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. While earning his BS at UNC, he was enrolled in Air Force ROTC and upon graduating in 1968, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He attended pilot training at Craig AFB, AL. After pilot training, he had a two week break before shipping out to Vietnam that he spent in Durham. It was during these two weeks that he met Miss Janice Carolyn Thomas. The two became penpals, writing every day during his year in Vietnam. He proposed through the mail and she accepted. His first duty assignment was to Da Nang Air Base, Republic of South Vietnam where he completed his combat tour, earning the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Upon returning from Vietnam, he married Carolyn and began a union that would last 53 years until his passing.

His military career after Vietnam took him to Mississippi where son Steven joined the pride, Texas where daughter Tracy completed the self styled “Griswolds” and he earned his Masters Degree from the University of Oklahoma, then on to California, England, West Germany and Louisiana. Larry flew the T-41, T-37, T-38, O-2, F-105 and his beloved A-10 (“The Warthog”) during his time in the Air Force. After twenty years as an active duty officer and pilot in the USAF, he retired as a major in 1988 and returned with his family to Durham. He worked at Mitsubishi Semiconductor, PPD, and Glaxo Smith Kline until his retirement.

Larry was an avid reader, a beloved Assistant Scoutmaster, and an active member of the Yates Baptist Church choir. We take great joy in knowing he is now reunited with the many dogs he loved in his life on this earth. In his retirement, he rarely missed an opportunity to go to the beach in any given season, always enjoying the hunt for sharks’ teeth on the beaches of Topsail Island. Larry never met a book, dog, adventure, roller coaster, campfire, camera, statement T shirt, signature socks, Mountain Dew or Pepsi he didn’t like.

Larry is survived by his loving wife Carolyn, children Steven and Tracy, son in law Wes Roberts, and grandchildren Lillian and Noah, brother Jim, and sister in law Carolanne, sister in law Jenny and her husband Ed, nieces Robin and Erica and their families, in addition to his beloved extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents Nelson and DeEtte, brother Bob, and niece Jaime.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the USO (https://secure.uso.org) or the Haiti mission through Yates Baptist Church. If donating through Yates, checks may be sent to the church adding “Haiti Mission” in the memo section or online at https://yateschurch.org. There is a pull down menu on the website (labeled Give online) where “Haiti Mission” may be selected as the designated fund.

Larry’s Celebration of Life will be held at Yates Baptist Church in Durham, NC on Saturday, August 3rd at 1pm. The celebration will be available to livestream at https://bit.ly/lstrawbridge