Larry Franklin Smucker, age 78, passed away peacefully on February 24th after a long fight with Alzheimer’s disease. He was born on May 3, 1941, in Akron, Ohio, to Carl and Irene (Yoder) Smucker. Larry was highly accomplished in his education and career, graduating from both Grinnell (B.A. class of 1963) and Harvard (M.A. class of 1965). He also received a certificate degree from Princeton University. While attending Grinnel, Larry travelled with a group of 13 fellow students from Iowa to Washington D.C. in 1961 to demonstrate for the nuclear test ban treaty. At the request of President Kennedy, they were invited into the White House for a short meeting with National Security Advisor, McGeorge (Mac) Bundy. The “Grinnell 14” gathered national publicity and are sometimes described as one of the first groups to start the era of the student peace movement in the 1960s. This experience would further shape Larry’s world view and the idea of being a champion for peace and justice, reflected in his work and throughout his life.
He worked as a Foreign Service Officer at USAID in Washington, DC, with overseas assignments in Ankara, Turkey (late 1960s) and Lima, Peru (late 1970s). He also worked at the World Bank (1984) shortly before his first wife Joan Lubin Smucker died from cancer. He met Fauzia Rashid while both were working at the World Bank and were married in 1992.
He is survived by his wife, Fauzia Rashid Smucker, sister Mary (Smucker) Conrad, brother David Rempel Smucker, son Daniel Smucker (m. Ronica Sanders), granddaughter Sophia, daughter Julia (Smucker) Thompson (m. Courtney Thompson), grandson Lucas, son Jonathan [Smucker] Steel, step daughter, Rishm Najm (m. Taimur Amjad), granddaughter Alisha, grandson Esaam.
Funeral services will be held at the Hyattsville Mennonite Church, 4217 East-West Hwy, Hyattsville, MD, Saturday, February 29th, 11am, followed by private interment.
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