HAYHURST

LAWRENCE MICHAEL

Age 74, of Forest Hills, died peacefully on May 3, 2026. He was the beloved husband of Marcie, father of Lou, Robert, and Lyle (Olga); and grandfather of Katya.

Larry was born in Ft. Campbell, KY, to Jerimiah and Marita (Fernandez) Hayhurst. His parents met in the Philippines, where Jerry was stationed during WWII. Marita and her sisters had been liberated from a Japanese internment camp by Jerry's unit, the 11th Airborne Division.

As an army brat, Larry lived in many places, including San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he engaged in mango fights and was run over by a milk truck.

The Hayhurst family, which grew to include five boys, Francis, Larry, James, Robert, and John, settled in Mill Valley, CA. Larry attended Mt. Tamalpais High School and Sonoma State College. On his summer vacations, he worked in the Willamette Valley on a Black Angus cattle ranch. One summer he and his friends drove a Model T north through Alaska until the mosquitoes got to them.

He worked as a shipyard machinist in San Francisco, CA, and Tampa, FL, sometimes working on antennas 200 feet above the deck and other times deep in the bowels of the ships where ten-foot gears turned.

In Florida, he moved an old post office five miles down the road onto his land and rewired, replumbed, and remodeled it for his family. They raised two pigs called Starbright and Sandthief and Araucana chickens, which lay blue eggs.

Larry moved to Pittsburgh to work as a machinist when the Florida shipyard closed. He returned to school at the University of Pittsburgh, where he got a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in industrial engineering. He worked for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, teaching students computer-controlled machining and other industrial arts.

In his spare time, he took up skydiving. He eventually became a master skydiver, a tandem instructor, and a talented skydive videographer. He made over 4,000 jumps, which is quite a lot, considering he started at age 50.

Larry was an excellent swimmer and a mediocre guitarist. He enjoyed writing and wrote a memoir and a science fiction novel. He practiced yoga and would stand on his head anywhere on a dare.

Our dear Larry was such a special person. He will be sorely missed by his wife, children, family, friends, and many, many animals, especially felines Loki and Harry Hayhurst.