Lawrence (Larry) S. Booth 80

Lawrence (Larry) Booth, 80

Born in Kellogg, Idaho, on May 15, 1942, to Kirk and Inez Booth, Larry moved with his family to Coeur d’Alene in 1952 at age 10. He spent the rest of his school years in Coeur d’Alene.

Larry joined the Army in 1960 and served three years. While in the Army, he graduated 12th in his class at the NCO Academy in Bad Toelz, Germany. He then went on to attain the rank of Sergeant E-5. Larry served in France and took his discharge there to go to college and attend to business interests. This was also where he met and married Annette Jung, his first wife.

Larry and Annette had two daughters. Valerie, married to James Murray, has three children, Genevieve, Daniel and Claire, and lives with her family in Dundee, Ill. Their younger daughter, Pascale, is married to Alain Monbailly. They have two children, Jennifer and Damian, and Jennifer is married to Gregory Gillmett. Jennifer and Greg have a son, Tom, who is Larry’s great-grandson, and they live in Gondreville and Mont le Vignoble, France, respectively. Larry and Annette separated in 1978 and divorced in 2002, remaining the best of friends until her passing in 2016. They were both so proud of their children and grandchildren.

Larry met and married his second wife, Betty Martinez, in 2003, and they so enjoyed their life together. Betty passed away in 2017 and is survived by her son, Doug, and his wife, Karen, who became a son and daughter to Larry as well.

Larry and his late brother, Roger, were in business together most of their lives, with Larry serving as Chairman of the Board of their company, Craftwall, Inc. Craftwall and its sister companies developed land, homes and subdivisions throughout the Northwest. They built thousands of homes, as well as running building material stores and a number of truss manufacturing shops in several states.

Beyond his family, Larry was very proud of two things: mentoring of young employees, many of whom are now successful in their own right, and the fact that he established and served on the first board of directors of the Idaho Housing Agency. The agency has helped many young Idaho families with their ability to afford to buy or rent a home. Larry is also survived by two brothers, Rob and Ray Bloom.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish, please give a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital 501 Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105/1 (800)822-6344/St.Jude.org in his memory.