Larry Leiter

Larry Leiter was born on June 18, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan. When he was just 6 weeks old, his family moved to Dallas, Texas. He had one brother, Bud, who was 5 years older than him. Larry grew up in the Lakewood area. A story his mother often liked to tell was about when Larry was 5 years old, and she sent him to Kindergarten in a brand new sailor's suit. She picked him up a few hours later at the request of the principal because he was being sent home for fighting. Not surprisingly, his brand new outfit was a total mess. Whenever this story was told, Larry would always proudly add that he'd been fighting to defend his teachers honor. While in elementary school, Larry began cussing at home. Upset by this, his mother told him if he was going to use bad language, he'd have to pack his bag and leave home. Given the choice, Larry packed a bag and walked out the front door and sat with his suitcase on the front step. When a friend arrived and asked him where his mother was, he replied, "How the hell do I know, I don't live here anymore." Larry attended Highland Park High School and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. In school, he played football, baseball and ran track. He also played ice hockey of which his parents disapproved. In fact, they only discovered he was playing after an article appeared in the Dallas paper about a fight that had broken out on the rink the night before. Larry graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in Business. He loved his time in Miami and always recalled it fondly. After graduation, he attended law school. His first job after college was as a sales representative for Johnson & Johnson. While working there, he met his future wife June. She was working as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines and he was a passenger on one of her flights. Evidently, Larry had approached her fellow flight attendant and asked her to hang up his coat. That flight attendant asked him to sit down and told him she'd get to it. A few minutes passed, and Larry impatiently walked to the front of the plane and dropped the coat at the flight attendants feet. Seeing all this, June immediately picked up the coat and hung it up for him. It was a pattern that would continue for the next fifty four years. After Johnson & Johnson, Larry worked for his father in the clothing business. Later he changed professions and worked in insurance restoration. Larry loved golf above all sports as a participant and ice hockey as a fan. He was a season ticket holder of the Dallas Cowboys for many years. He always affectionately referred to the Cowboys as "the bums." He also faithfully followed the Texas Rangers. To his family and friends, Larry will best be remembered for his wit and sense of humor. He was quick with a joke and clever. He especially enjoyed making up names to give to the hostesses at restaurants whenever they would ask for the party name. He often recalled one such instance when during the Cold War years he spelled his party name at a restaurant in Dallas. Not surprisingly, later, when the "Communist" party's table was called, he was the only one willing to walk to the hostess station. In this difficult, very sad time, it is his family's hope that everyone who knew Larry can be comforted by memories of his sense of humor. When is comes to Larry Leiter, there is no shortage of funny stories to tell. Larry is survived by his wife June Leiter, daughters Monica Samuels and her husband Marc, Lisa Morris and her husband Robert, Dana Corbett and her husband Randy, grandchildren Jared and Chase Samuels, Tori and Casey Morris, Caitlin Corbett, Madison Carter and her husband Brycen, Hannah Corbett and Danielle Corbett. Larry was preceded in death by his parents Sam and Mary Leiter and his brother Bradley (Bud) Leiter. The family will receive friends at a brief visitation from 10:30-11:00 AM on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at Adat Shalom, 7777 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75251. The funeral service will begin immediately following the visitation at 11:00 AM. Larry will be laid to rest at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas.