| Obituary from the Press Herald |
GRAY – Lawrence J. Zuckerman, of Gray, passed away on Feb. 25, following a recent diagnosis of glioblastoma. He was 79.
Larry was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 19, 1945, to the late Charlotte and George Zuckerman, and grew up in Long Beach and Oceanside on Long Island. He was a native New Yorker, but a Mainer at heart.
To the people who knew him, loved him, and were awed by him, Larry seemed immortal. Many regarded him as “The Most Interesting Man in the World”; he was a Renaissance man – an attorney for over 50 years, engineer, risk-taker, self-made entrepreneur, builder, farmer, sheep herder, sailor, polo player, banjo player, painter, skeptic, optimist, deep and principled thinker, forever student, wisecracker, and party animal. He was extremely civically-minded, serving on many committees and boards.
He relished life, new experiences, old habits, and mischief. He started working at the age of 14 and never stopped. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Columbia University. As an undergraduate, he spent hours at the MoMA and painted strikingly-good Picasso replicas. Larry briefly taught high school science before earning his law degree from the University of Maine. He lost his college roommate in the Vietnam War, an experience that marked him deeply.
In the 1970s, he bought and restored Bear Brook Farm in New Gloucester and also purchased property on Little Sebago Lake in Gray. Thirty years later, he replaced the rundown camp with a beautiful home he designed himself and moved in with his late wife, Catherine. Designing houses using CAD programs was one more thing Larry taught himself to do. There was always something new to learn.
Larry lived his life with curiosity, humor, and verve, embracing all that was fun, which at various times took the form of a pinball machine, a waterbed, a sailboat, a banjo, dogs, horses, the polo field, Tito’s vodka – often with ginger beer, and an endless appetite for sweets (a Zuckerman family trait), especially ice cream and his beloved wife Susan’s chocolate chip cookies.
He was in his 70s when he decided to become a sheep herder, and bought a flock of sheep. He loved training his Border Collies and watching them work. A few years ago, through his interest in breeding his dog Cora, he consulted a colleague of 25 years, who bred dogs. Larry and Susan found they were perfect for each other, fell in love, and married in the summer of 2023.
Besides his loving wife Susan Turner Zuckerman, Larry is survived by his stepchildren Leah Beran and Tyler Beran, Tyler’s wife Carrie and son Charlie, Susan’s children Jesse, Nicole, Zach, and Ian and their families; his mother-in-law, Lois Turner; his twin sister, Linda Sloves and brother-in-law Eli Sloves; nieces and nephews Michael Sloves, Alicia Zuckerman, Jeremy Zuckerman, Cady Zuckerman and their families; longtime friend and colleague Julie Mason; and many cousins, friends, and other family.
He was predeceased by his cherished wife, Catherine Zuckerman; his brother, David Zuckerman, and sister-in-law, Rita Zuckerman.
Visiting hours will be held on Saturday, March 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Wilson Funeral Home, 24 Shaker Rd., Gray. A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, March 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Spring Meadows Golf Club, 59 Lewiston Rd., Gray.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.wilsonfhllc.com
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