Arrangements have been made to celebrate the life of the late and beloved Larry Morrish, Bay Ridge community activist extraordinaire, whose death has personally touched the many who knew him.
The wake will be held on Friday, February 12 at Clavin Funeral Home (7722 Fourth Avenue) from 2 to 9 p.m. with a 10:30 a.m. funeral mass on Saturday, February 13 at Our Lady of Angels Church (7320 Fourth Avenue).
“I’m overwhelmed by the love and support of everyone in and outside of the Bay Ridge community,” said Morrish’s wife Phillipa. “I am surprised by the amount of people who genuinely loved Larry, and yet, I am not surprised because he genuinely loved everybody.
“For the short time he was in the hospital, the nurses, the doctors, everybody who heard he passed away, were saying how sorry they were,” she continued. “Even for that short time he touched them, he was grateful for everything they did.”
Along with providing readers of this paper with a local news column, Morrish was an early supporter of the Ragamuffin Parade, serving as the event’s chair for 16 years. The community leader was also one of the original founders of BRAVO — Bay Ridge’s volunteer ambulance service — in 1974, started the Bay Ridge Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and was actively involved in community clean-ups.
Morrish was also one of the founders of the Bay Ridge Unity Task force, created to build bridges between local residents of different faiths and backgrounds, and the Celebration of Light, a program that began at Visitation Academy in 1995–and has spread to almost 35 churches today–in which churches across Brooklyn are lit up for the Christmas holiday, with financial support provided by Maimonides Medical Center.
“Larry, he was a giant, one of the giants of Bay Ridge and I don’t think there’s anyone else like him,” added Phillipa. “He was my friend, my husband, my love. The devotion he had, [was] just outside of himself. He was a very selfless man and I give thanks for the 20 years we had together.”
Following the funeral service, Phillipa asks that all those who knew and loved her husband join her at the Fort Hamilton Army Base Community Club for an open conversation about their memories of Morrish.
“It will be a celebration of his life,” said Phillipa. “I want everyone to share their favorite Larry story. I want it to end on a note on which people are laughing.”
In lieu of flowers, Phillipa suggests making a donation to either the Bay Ridge Center (411 Ovington Avenue) or the St. Nicholas Home, Inc. (425 Ovington Avenue), two causes that were close to Morrish’s heart.
