Lawrence H. Thaw, (known to most as Lari – Larry) age 74, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, November 9th, 2023. Lawrence was born on August 16, 1949, in Newark New Jersey to Bernard and Dora (Kaselman) Thaw. Lari moved to Miami Florida from Hillside New Jersey, where he attended Miami Dade Community College learning Graphic & Ad design. He worked in the printing industry from an early age, and later worked with Tiger Beat & Teen Beat Magazine in the 1970s.
His creative passion continued when he and Jennifer Clark started the print company “Metro Media Advertising LLC”. Creating popular publications throughout Lake County, Florida, such as “Lake Gazette”, “Mount Dora Fun Map” “North Lake County Fun Map” and “Savvy Shopper” Thrift store brochure. He also created ads for Rennigner’s Market in Mount Dora and many local businesses as well. His love for creative designs continued into the development of “Lari Thaw Designs” where he built a thriving online T-shirt design business called “Tapestry Tees”.
Lari will be remembered for his love for the town of Mount Dora. He was known by many as “Lari, the Segway guy”, as he could be seen all over downtown Mount Dora riding around doing business, via his Segway. In his free time, he spent hours listening to Rock music from the 1960s. He loved, John Mayall, Humble Pie, the Beatles and would smile in pride as he would talk about going to Woodstock, showing off the ticket stub that he kept in his wallet, whenever he could! Lari was known also for his affection for and collection of anything “Felix the Cat”. A strong advocate for Animals, he especially loved cats. His furry friends, “Phil” & “Rainy” will miss him most of all.
Lari leaves behind his loving friends Jennifer and Joshua Clark. Their friendship grew to the point that he had become a part of their family. Lari is preceded in death by his brother Joel Thaw. Leaves behind his cousin, Meryl Ramo Marias, Fran Thull Thaw, and 5 “adopted” grandchildren (from the Clark family).
Lari will be missed greatly, he was a quiet soul, until he got to know you. Once he decided if he liked you, he was a force of pure love and would do anything for you. He had a dry and self-deprecating sense of humor that would sometimes put people off, which just made him that much funnier. We love you Lari!
There will be a small Memorial for friends to pay their respects, in late November. Arrangements are still being made and will be announced in the Online Obituary as well as his Facebook page. (search – Lari Thaw). In lieu of flowers, Lari requested that donations be made to any Animal Shelter or the ASPCA.
