Larry D. Seals

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Larry D. Seals, 75, died in his home on Thursday, July 8 ^th 2021 after a long battle with Agent Orange-related cancers. Born March 18, 1946 to Willie V. Seals and Melba Bridwell Seals Soles, he was reared in Big Spring, TX. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Sharon Growney Seals; his daughter Catherine (Adam) Wieser; his son John Bridwell (Erin) Seals; his sister, Sharon (Scott) Carr: his grandsons, Wolf and Ronan Weiser; granddaughter, Emmylou Seals, and many nieces and nephews.

Graveside services will be Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. at Mount Olivet Cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Grant County Rotary Scholarship, P.O. Box 338 Sheridan, AR 72150.

Seals was preceded in death by his parents; his stepfather, D.H. Soles; his nephew Michael Stephens; and sister in law, Claudia Eggert Growney.

A career Army man since 1966, he served in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos as a highly-decorated COBRA helicopter pilot and military policeman. Upon his return, he received a Bachelor's degree from Univserity of Nebraska, and a Master's degree in Criminal Justice from Wichita State University. He also completed post-graduate work at American University at Washington D.C. and the University of Oklahoma.

Besides his service in Vietnam, he served during the Cold War behind the Iron Curtain in Berlin, Germany, as the Public Information Officer from 1980 – 1983. In his press position, he managed media coverage of the Solidarity Movement, of five Polish airline hijackings, and of defections of citizens from East to West Berlin. He was also deployed with the U.S. Marines to Beirut in 1982.

Among many citations, his military honors included the Bronze Star, Ten Air Medals, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation, and Four Distinguished Flying Crosses.

After 22 years in the military, Seals retired and became the Senior Army Instructor of the Sheridan High School Junior ROTC program, where he taught citizenship skills for 21 years. During that time, Seals sat on the National JROTC Curriculum Review Committee and was the creator of the Leadership Education Aptitude Drill (L.E.A.D) game, in use in 1300 high school JROTC programs across America and abroad.

Seals was also active in Grant County Rotary as a Paul Harris Fellow; he sat on the Grant County Industrial Development Board where he was instrumental in expanding the Grant County Airport and served as Commissioner; he was a former Parish Council President of Holy Cross Church; and he was a founding member of the Grant County United Way. Additionally, he was a nominee to the Aviation Hall of Fame and a member of the Little Rock Chapter of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society.

After 43 years in uniform, he retired to Hot Springs, where he enjoyed recreating on Lake Catherine. He had a deep love of water, airplanes, and family.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, July 15 ^th from 5:00 – 8:00 P.M. at Memorial Gardens Funeral Home in Sheridan, Arkansas. A graveside service with military honors will follow on Saturday, July 17 ^th at 10:00 A.M. at Mount Olivet Cemetery, St. Joseph, Missouri.