Memorial Service

There will be a public memorial service celebrating Larry's life on Sunday, July 26th at 2:00 p.m. at Horizon Community Learning Center in Ahwatukee. The celebration will occur in the gymnasium with an open reception in the community center to follow. Seating will be limited and the service is open to everyone who desires to attend.

Horizon Community Learning Center
16233 South 48th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85048


In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made on Larry's behalf to either one of the following:

Mayo Clinic
Department of Development
200 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55905
Payable to: Mayo Clinic
c/o: Cancer Research for Multiple Myeloma


Larry Pieratt Scholarship Fund
16233 South 48th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85048
Payable to: Larry Pieratt Scholarship Fund

Note: The scholarship fund will be used to provide student scholarships across all of the organizations Larry has been apart of. Further details will be made available at a later time.

Update 7-19-09

Hand in hand, the Pieratt family walked Larry to the gates as he flew away to heaven to be in Jesus' arms at 9:00 p.m this evening. Larry was a firm believer and follower; and knew that it was God's will to be done. God has other plans for him, as his work with us was complete.

The family was present, and we are at peace. While the void he leaves will be a significant one, we know in our hearts he is with us and we will see him again.

It is our hope and prayer that each of you can find the same peace and joy in your hearts as together we can celebrate the lives he has touched.

We will be making arrangements for services to "celebrate his life" and will communicate them as soon as they are available.

Our peace and love goes out to each of you as you deal with this in your own ways.

In His loving faith and service

Update 7-17-09

Today was a neutral day. The liver enzymes were up a little more than in the kidneys, but Larry did break the temp he had for most of the day. They adjusted the feeding tube and took it out of the mouth and went through his nose. They were trying to loosen up the breathing channel as he was getting very agitated from the breathing treatments. His blood pressure remained low, but was receiving drugs to bring it up a bit. Overall swelling was still occurring, but doctors have wanted to hold off on lasics for a little while. The kidneys were still showing signs of functioning, which is a positive. The chest x-rays showed consistent with yesterday, no real change on the pneumonia side. He got a new fancy air bed that adjusts his position every ten minutes. He would have wanted one of those at home :-)

Brenda was able to get some well needed rest today and the continuous support, prayers, emails, and voicemails are certainly appreciated. I think the word is getting out on the blog spot page, so we hope everyone is being kept informed.

The staff at Mayo has been wonderful and they take great care of him and us! They are second to none in reputation and their bedside manners clearly demonstrate that.

Nights seems to be the loneliest, but that is to be expected...

Continued prayers for the family are appreciated. We love you all!

Update 7-16-09

At rounds this morning there were no real changes or signs of the pneumonia regressing. Larry had a peaceful night. Liver enzymes unfortunately did show a slight increase similar to the kidney increase from the day before. Larry continues to be on a ventilator.

Voicemails have been forwarded, as they support has been overwhelming but much appreciated. We will try and keep this blog as current as possible. We love you all!

First off...thank you to all for your continued prayers and loving support.

Larry is in a medically-induced coma being treated for pneumonia in his lungs. He is currently on a ventilator in the Critical Care unit at Mayo Hospital in North Scottsdale. We have had continued support, prayers, and requests for updates. We hope to use this blog page as a means of communicating to each of you as his progress changes over the days to come. You can subscribe to receive an email notification as soon as updates are posted.

Larry has been battling pneumonia since the July 4th weekend. And as a result of a compromised immune system from years of battling cancer, his condition is now critical. Today doctors have said his "trends" have taken a turn for the worse. The kidneys are showing increased levels of enzymes and are beginning to shut down. Doctors are doing everything possible to make sure he is pain-free.

We continue to love and pray for his recovery, but know that this is in God's hands now.

We will update you all as we know of changes...