Died September 3, 1978
College: Timothy Dwight
Having started out with the Class of 1960, Larry Adams returned to Yale to join our class for senior year, when he roomed with us in TD. An English major, he was seriously interested in literature and hoped to become a writer. He was also an enthusiastic classical guitarist, a fun roommate, and a generous and decent person.
A slight, sandy-haired fellow, Larry was notable for cat-like physical grace and agility – qualities that surely served him well on Harvard-Yale weekend our senior year when he and Tim Truslow climbed the Harvard Lampoon building on a rainy night to install a Yale banner. They also served him well when, in the spirit of youthful experimentation, he and Tim jumped from the balcony in the TD dining hall to test the (dubious) hypothesis that they would hit the floor with about the same force as a marine paratrooper hits the ground. Larry landed lightly on his feet and somersaulted forward to finish unhurt and grinning. (Tim broke his heel.)
We all went separate ways after graduation and lost touch with Larry. We know that he migrated to California to pursue screenwriting, but in 1978 our class notes included the sad news that he had died that year in Mexico. Years later, we learned from his brother that Larry had drowned while attempting a challenging and ill-advised ocean swim. We and others are sorry he is not with us anymore.
— by Bob McManus and Fred Truslow