Larry Jerome Marcum, age 67, of Gordo, AL passed away peacefully on July 26, 2024 at his home. Funeral services will be 11:00 am Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at Emmanuel Baptist Church with Rev. David Westmoreland officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Larry will be laid to rest at Zion Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery during a private graveside service with the family and Skelton Funeral Home of Reform directing.
Larry was born on May 26, 1957 to parents Kathleen and James in Tuscaloosa. Larry moved to Southeast Texas in the late 1970s where he met Kelly, his wife of 38 years, and worked as a master electrician at a strategic petroleum reserve. Larry and Kelly went on to raise two daughters, Rachel and Hannah. In 2000, Larry and his family moved back to his hometown of Gordo. Larry, along with his uncles and a few skilled friends, built their home from the ground up. He enjoyed working at Alabama's locks and dams, and even received a certificate of recognition for helping to save a family whose boat capsized on the Black Warrior River.
Larry took pride in teaching his granddaughters, Amelia and Sipsey, about growing vegetables in his yearly garden. Larry always had a smile and a kind word for those he encountered; he never met a stranger. Active in his church, he served on the hospitality and building and grounds committees. Making people happy through food was one of his passions in life. Larry was a well-known griller; he competed in BBQ cookoffs and often earned trophies for ribs and beans. In his later years, he grilled often for his community at town events.
Larry was preceded in death by his mother and stepfather, Kathleen and Roy Porter and his father, James Marcum.  He is survived by his wife, Kelly; daughters, Rachel (Drake) McCool of Northport, and Hannah (Adam) Wallace of Hoover; granddaughters, Amelia McCool and Sipsey Wallace; brothers, Marty Marcum and Brian (Katie) Porter, and sister, Kim (Mike) Hocutt.
Pallbearers include Jimmy Thomas, Kenny Thomas, Tyrone Thomas, Gary Thomas, Randy Dillard and Jim Jeter.  Honorary Pallbearers include attendees of the Emmanuel Brotherhood Breakfast and members of the early morning Gilliam's Coffee Crew.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Emmanuel Baptist Brotherhood, P.O. Box 588, Gordo, AL 35466 or Zion Primitive Baptist Cemetery Fund c/o Roger Parker P.O. Box 90, Gordo, AL 35466.