Larry Leaver passes

Ohio bluegrass fiddler Larry Leaver died on January 26 with his family by his bedside. He was 77 years of age.

Larry was born in May 21, 1947 in Wooster, Ohio. After graduation he served two years in the US Army during the Vietnam war (1966-1968). He went to work as a boilermaker in ’69 for Babcock & Wilcox, and stayed with them for 30 years. Throughout this time, and following his retirement in 2005, Larry played as much bluegrass as he could find time for.

A life long bluegrass fan, Leaver has a grandmother, Merle Henthorn, who was a fiddler, and he grew up watching her play.

Over the years he figured in a number of prominent bands in the Ohio/Kentucky region, starting out with Landon Walker & the Pioneer Mountain Boys. Later he joined up with the Stone Mountain Boys, and performed all over Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, including frequent appearances on the Wheeling Jamboree on WWVA.

In the 1980s Larry was a member of The Bluegrass Mountaineers, and later Andy Hamilton & the East Kentucky Grass. After leaving his job with Babcock & Wilcox he began traveling more for work with the Boilermaker’s Union, but did play some with The Kentucky Club.

Once he finally retired it was all bluegrass, all the time. He loved attending bluegrass festivals and jams, and played with a number of groups in Ohio like The Blantons, Andy Hamilton, and Mike Gorrell & Nortwest Territory. A special treat was filling in a few times with Tony Holt & the Wildwood Valley Boys, where his son Brian was on banjo.

Larry appeared on a good many recordings during his life, and released his own solo project, Generations, in 2017 with assistance from his son Brian on banjo, and Michael Cleveland, Tony Holt, Aaron Bibelhauser, Kent Todd, Brian Allen, Lynn Manzenberger, Josh Richard, and Richard Torstrick.

It was a source of pride for Larry to see his son become an accomplished and respected bluegrass musician, and he loved spending time with his grandson, Quentin.

Leaver will be remembered not only as a fine fiddler in the traditional style, but as a good friend to many in the bluegrass community as well. His warm smile and welcoming nature will be missed by all who knew him.

R.I.P., Larry Leaver.

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