Obituary of Larry G. Terrell

Mr. Larry G. Terrell, age 73, of Chattanooga (Formerly of Fort Payne) passed away February 10, 2021. Funeral Services will be held at 11am on Saturday, February 13, 2021 from the W.T. Wilson Funeral Chapel. Burial will follow in Mountain View Memory Gardens. Rev. Ronald Berry Will be officiating. The Family will receive Friends from 10am until the time of service on Saturday from the W.T. Wilson Funeral Chapel. Larry Terrell was born in Fort Payne, Alabama to Verbon Lee Terrell (“Walt”) and Lillie Maurine Terrell (Maurine) on December 21, 1947. He was the second son of his parents with his brother, Danny, being born the year before. Another brother, Sammy, came along in 1949. Walt Terrell drove a tanker truck for a living while his mother stayed at home and raised the boys. Larry grew up like most boys of his era playing some kind of ball during the long days of summer, only returning home towards sundown and supper. He and his brothers also spent time at their grandparents’ farm in Alabama. He attended Ft. Payne High School and was graduated in 1966. He attended community college for business classes. However, before starting a business career, it was the height of the Vietnam war. He decided to join the Army rather than being drafted and was posted to Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he worked as a clerk at a supply depot. He said he had enjoyed his stay in the Army and was able to travel around Germany when his duties allowed him. It was there he purchased the car of his dreams, an Austin Healey two-seater English sports car. He loved that car so much he shipped it back to the United States at the end of his tour of duty. He always talked lovingly of that car and I think he regretted selling it. After the Army, he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he worked as a Loan Officer for a number of financial institutions. He got married to Paula and they later had a daughter, Denise. Unfortunately, his marriage to Paula ended and he lost touch with Denise for sometime as his ex-wife remarried. It was soon after this that he hurt his back and had several vertebrae fused in his back. Up until his death, his back would “go out” every now and again and he would end up lying on his apartment floor to ease the pain. He got back in touch with Denise and they exchanged cards and phone calls. She had moved down to Pensacola, Florida, where she had married and had her first baby when she and her family returned to Chattanooga in the Christmas of 2010 for a visit. Larry actually met his son-in-law and grandson at that time during their visit. Larry always talked lovingly of Denise and I am sure he wished he could have seen she and her family more often. When Larry first retired, he was intensely interested in holistic medicine and bought numerous books on natural remedies in lieu of taking medication. He probably was trying to get the Post Office out of debt with all the stuff he ordered from Publishers Clearing House and books on holistic medicine and natural remedies. He was diagnosed with diabetes and decided to take charge of his health. He kept to a very stringent diet and walked around 3 miles a day. I doubt he even snuck a French fry once diagnosed!!! Eventually, he lost a significant amount of weight and no longer needed to take medication to control his diabetes. About four years ago, while out on his daily 3-mile walk, he developed a blood clot in his foot and called for the ambulance to come to where he was on the street in Hixson. After undergoing surgery to remove the clot, he had to be kept perfectly still for 24 hours which was torture to him as he was very active at that time. However, the clot took a lot out of Larry and his health began to deteriorate over the last years of his life. He had severe arthritis in his knees and kept Australian Dream Arthritis cream in business. He probably needed a knee replacement but the Terrell men are nothing if not obstinate, and wouldn’t even check out what was involved. Instead, he was kept in terrible pain when out of his ointment. He refused to take pain meds stronger than Advil. Larry developed tachycardia and was hospitalized at the VA in Murfreesboro where he was later transferred to a hospital in Nashville. From then on, he had to take heart medication and his overall health condition slowly declined. Again the obstinate streak of the Terrell men loomed its head as he refused to use a walker to help his balance and chose to use a simple cane. This could very well have contributed to his fall outside his apartment on December 27th when he broke his hip. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and then transferred to Life Care of East Ridge, Tennessee, for rehab. Unfortunately, his general health deteriorated and he was transferred to Memorial Medical Intensive Care Unit on January 18th where he eventually passed away on February 10th at 12:36 pm ET, despite the best efforts of the medical staff. *Survivors* Daughter, Denise Terrell Long Brother, Sammy Terrell Sister-in-Law, Lynda Terrell Nephew, James Terrell *Preceded in death by: Parents, Verbon & Maureen Terrell; Brother, Danny Terrell