G. Larry Hamrick

George Larry Hamrick, DDS passed away on June 18th after a long battle with cancer. Larry was born in Atlanta to Scott and Jureda Hamrick in the summer of 1939. He was raised on the banks of Pine Lake in Dekalb County. While attending Clarkston high school he played football, fished, swam and developed his life-long love of the outdoors. After graduation, he attended the University of Georgia where he received a degree in Agriculture. He was a letterman at Georgia, swimming backstroke for Coach Bump Gabrielsen and the UGA Swim Team. He was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

On a forestry job in Montana, Larry decided to return to Atlanta and enroll in Emory University where he obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery. At Emory, he was a member of Xi Psi Phi Dental Fraternity. He married Ardeth Gibson and they had three sons, Scott, George and Kyell.

Larry began his dental career in Tucker, Georgia. He was instrumental in establishing the Tucker Hunting Club and opened an archery shop. He was a decorated archer, once winning The Southeastern with his left-handed long bow. Archery magazine published a feature article on him in 1965. He was a barefoot skier at Lake Spivey appearing on CBS Sports Spectacular. He drank a beer in the Caribbean with John Wayne. He studied taxidermy and gunsmithing. He played the trumpet, banjo, wash tub base, and took accordion and cello lessons. He drove from Atlanta to Miami in a Pontiac convertible with the top down and a pet pigeon sitting atop the back seat. He dived the 12 Mile Banks of Grand Cayman.

He married Linda Hester in 1971 with a German Shepherd serving as witness and best man. With Linda he had two sons, Philip and Ryan. They moved to Mansfield, Georgia where he opened a dental practice and managed Marben Farms Hunting and Fishing Preserve (now Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center).

Larry moved his family to Athens, Georgia where he practiced dentistry, retiring after fifty years. His patients were his friends. He never met a stranger and his generosity was legendary. He always had a joke to tell. He had an infectious laugh and, in life, gave much more than he took. He spent the last years of his life playing with his grandchildren, teaching young and old how to handle a gun, telling stories and hanging out at the Shooters Den in Watkinsville.

He is preceded in death by his parents Scott and Jureda Hamrick and older brother Donald Hamrick. He is survived by Linda, his wife of 47 years; brother: David Hamrick (wife Pam); brothers-in-law: Robert Burton, Jerrold Hester (Linda) and James Siniard, (Carol); sons: Scott Hamrick (Julie), George Hamrick, Kyell Camp, Philip Hamrick (Caroline) and Ryan Hamrick (Valerie); grandchildren: Emmeline, Fletcher Mae, Toombs, Jonah, Mitchell and Thomas and many other loving family members.

A celebration of his life will be held at Lord & Stephens, East Funeral Home on Lexington Road in Athens, Georgia at 2:00 pm, Monday, July 9th with Ryan Hamrick officiating. The family will receive friends beginning at 1:00 pm at the funeral home.