Larry Kieffer, 82, Fairmount and Philadelphia Rowing Respected Oarsman
Lawrence J. Kieffer, a well known and admired figure in Philadelphia rowing circles, passed away on March 29 at age 82. A lifetime member of Fairmount Rowing Association, Larry amassed over 100 rowing victories including seventeen Elite National Championships, three Canadian Henley Senior Championships and numerous other regatta victories. In the 1940s and 1950s, Larry and his brother John dominated US rowing, especially in the pair, double and quadruple sculls. Larry and John qualified for the Pan Am games in 1951 in the pair with and pair without coxswain.
Larry began his rowing career at Roman Catholic High School were he won three National Scholastic titles in the varsity single, varsity four, and varsity eight. He coached Roman Catholic in the 1960s and was inducted into the Roman Catholic Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. Larry was also a successful coach at Fairmount in the 1970s and 1980s, capturing National and Canadian Henley titles.
Larrys rowing legacy is being perpetuated at both the high school, university and club levels by his sons John, Larry, and Joe, as well as four of his grandchildren Laura Suhadolnik, Danielle Potts, Andrew Potts and Lawren Kieffer. His son, John Kieffer, is currently coaching the Junior Rowing Program at Fairmount. Johns crews recently competed in the womens double at the Junior World Championship and the womens varsity double at the Scholastic National Championship.
Larry was a decorated veteran with tours of duty in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he was the proprietor of John E. Kieffer and Sons, an appliance and tire retailer in Lansdale, Pa.
Larry is survived by his wife of 54 years Clara, and children John and his wife Brenda, Janice and her husband Daniel Potts, Larry and his wife Debby, Mary Ellen and her husband John Suhadolnik, Joseph and his wife Margaret, as well as 13 grandchildren, his brother John J. Kieffer, and three nephews and a niece. He was preceded in death by his sister Marie Lees. Larry was a member of the Knights of Columbus and a parishioner at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.
Friends may join the family viewing, 6:00PM to 8:00PM on Sunday, April 2 at R.L. Williams, Jr. Funeral Home, Skippack Pike (Route 73) at Cedars Road, Skippack, Pa 19474 and also between 8:30AM and 9:30AM on Monday. A mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30AM on Monday, April 3 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church on 428 South Main Street (Sumneytown Pike) in North Wales, Pa.
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Legends of Fairmount
by John J. Kieffer
Lawrence J. Kieffer
Larry was one of Fairmount's most winning oarsmen of all time. He started as a junior member in the summer of 1939 (annual dues $12 a year), and rowed in the Varsity Eight at Roman Catholic High in his freshman year. In his sophomore year he won the national championship in the Varsity Four. In his junior year he won the national scholastic title in the Varsity Singles and stroked the Roman eight to a win in the city championship. In his senior year he stroked the Roman eight to the national title. As successful as he was in high school, he exceeded this with his wins in club rowing. In 1939 and 1940 he won many sweep and sculling races and in 1941 he was in the winning Senior Eight (elite) at the National Championship Regatta in Minneapolis. He followed this up in 1942 with wins at the nationals in the Senior Eight and Senior Quad. He also won the Canadian Henley in the Senior Double with Charlie Kain this same year.
When he graduated from high school in 1943 he volunteered and joined the Navy. After indoctrination at Great Lakes he was sent to Maryland for amphibious training and from there to duty in the Pacific as a Boswains Mate 1st Class on the LC1 422. This LC1 was converted to a rocket ship and had a capacity of about 700 rockets. They participated in landings in the Philippines at Leyte and Luzon. Their job was to precede the landing forces, usually by 24 to 48 hours, and bombard the shore installations. They would dash in sometimes as close as 100 yards from the beach, unleash their rockets, and dash back to reload rockets from an offshore tender. They went beach to beach looking for targets of opportunity. Larry estimated that they launched over 5000 rockets during these operations. The LC1 422 went through this unscathed but several in their flotilla were sunk. At the finish of this operation they were dispatched to Okinawa for rescue picket duty. Enroute to Okinawa they sailed through two typhoons in the China Sea and came close to capsizing. Upon arrival at Okinawa they were assigned to patrol the harbor and pick up survivors from the ships hit by kamikaze attacks. They were on this duty for two months and experienced many close calls. One of them occurred when they were alongside a 2100-ton destroyer that was hit by a kamikaze. Luckily most of the explosion passed over the LC1 and just a few of the LC1 personnel were wounded by shrapnel. Larry was unhurt and participated in the rescue work, which included diving in the oil-slicked water to pull out survivors. After Okinawa he was sent back to Pearl Harbor for R & R. He was then sent back to the West Coast and assigned duty aboard the Arkansas, a World War I battleship. The war ended about a month later and his ship made several trips between Seattle and Pearl Harbor transporting returning servicemen. He was sent home in late October and discharged from active duty in January 1946.
By the spring of 1946 Larry and his brother John joined their father in his tire and appliance business, which they took over when he retired. They developed this business into one of the most successful independent appliance dealers in the Delaware Valley. This business is now owned by Larry's son John (Fairmounts successful Junior Team Coach). Larry married his wife Clara in 1951 and has three sons, two daughters and thirteen grandchildren. All three sons were successful oarsmen at Fairmount, and four grandchildren - Laura Sudaholnik, Danielle Potts, Andrew Potts and Lawren Kieffer - have each won many races. Larry also has three nephews - Jim, John, and Joe Lees - who rowed at Fairmount and three cousins - Jack, John, and Bob Blessing - who rowed at Penn AC, Vesper, and Columbia. Quite a dynasty! And more coming up.
Larry continued rowing after the war and won many more races, including national championships in the Senior Quad in 1946, 1947, and 1949; the Senior Pair With and Without Cox in 1949 with Ragnar Hegna; the Senior Pair With and Without Cox in 1950 with his brother John; and two Canadian Henley championships in 1949 and 1950. Larry coached the RCHS crews in 1946 and 1947 and they won several national championships. In 1955 he retired from competitive rowing because of his growing family and business obligations. He returned to coaching in the late 60's and early 70's and helped his sons, nephews, and other Fairmount oarsmen to many victories. He retired from his business in 1987 but stayed on to help his son until the middle 90's when arthritis forced him to stop. He is still a life member of Fairmount and keeps in touch with club activities through his sons John and Joe.