William Lawrence Garvin, 94, died peacefully on Sept. 15, 2018 in Eastsound, Washington.

Larry and his twin brother Bob were born in Steubenville, Ohio on Sept. 1, 1924. He was a cheerleader in high school and an enthusiastic student. He received a scholarship to Washington and Lee University where he spent his freshman and sophomore years before joining the Navy.

Once his service was complete, he continued his undergraduate studies at Ohio State University, with the help of the G.I. bill. While at Ohio State, he married Sylvia Malcolm Graham and together they moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to start a family while he earned his masters in architecture at MIT. Following graduation, his career as an architect took him to Clemson, South Carolina, Boston, Massachusetts, Berkeley, California, Lubbock, Texas and finally to Manhattan, Kansas, where he retired at the age of 74.

Always a Navy man, he was an avid sailor. He collected many entertaining stories of getting lost, misidentifying lighthouses, capsizing, perpetual seasickness and boats that all but fell apart beneath him, which he told with a good-natured tone and a gleeful grin. Along the way, he visited and sailed around Orcas and fell in love with the island. In 1999, he followed his dream of retiring in the San Juans and moved to Eastsound.

Perhaps it was because he was one of the older residents, or perhaps it was his blue cap and silver Mercedes coup, but Mr. Garvin became known to many on the island. He loved the arts and was often found attending events of music, theatre, musical theatre, joining in with any opportunity to sing and dining at many of the fine restaurants of Orcas. A cultural omnivore, he was always eager to participate and enjoy.

Larry is survived by his brother Phillip Craig Garvin of Steubenville, Ohio; son Timothy Carl Ish of Ponte Vedra, Florida; daughters Victoria Garvin Davis of Carlisle, Massachusetts, Catherine Miller Garvin and Elizabeth Carter Garvin both of New York, New York; and grandsons James Corliss Davis of Carlisle, Massachusetts and Ellis Scot Palmer of New York, New York. You may contact the family via email at wlg@elizabethgarvin.com.