The place for all things wine, focused on serious wine discussions.

Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

Jim Vandegriff

Rank

Ultra geek

Posts

157

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 2:33 am

Location

Trinidad, CA

Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Jim Vandegriff » Sat Jun 24, 2006 2:37 am

Larry Moss, a longtime member of this forum in its many incarnations, died yesterday at his home in Big Lagoon (Trinidad), California. A consumate wine connoisseur with a love of fine Loire and southern French wines, he will be missed by those fortunate enough to know him. I personally met Larry on internet wine forums before I moved to Big Lagoon where we started a monthly wine tasting and potluck group for our neighbors that has continued for the last 6 years. He taught me a great deal about wine, and about life.
Below I am including the press release about him which was released tonight by the Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation. I will miss him, and hope those of you whom he touched will salute his memory. All the best, Jim Vandegriff


Larry E. Moss
President
Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation
2000-2006


He was delighted to spend his last years in public services working on a project that served everyone and whose purposes are to conserve species of plants, educate the public and to bring beauty, peace and harmony to all.



Due to illness, Larry Edwin Moss retired as President of the Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation (HBGF) on June 20, 2006 at the regularly scheduled meeting of the HBGF Board of Directors. He died peacefully in his sleep in his home at Big Lagoon, California on June 22, 2006 surrounded by his loved ones, garden, books, and music.



Larry was born in the Platte River Valley of Nebraska on July 6, 1934 to Edward and Ruth Moss. He developed his love of nature and science as a child roaming through his grandparent’s farmlands.



When his parents separated, Larry moved west with his mother to the unique community of Coronado, a small island off the coast of San Diego where is older brother Don was stationed in the U.S. Navy. There, he continued to develop his interest in science. When he graduated from Coronado High School in 1952, he was the recipient of the Bausch and Lomb Science Award and the Westinghouse (now Intel) Science Talent Search Award. He also received the Naval Reserve Officer’s Training Corp Scholarship which took him to Europe for the summer on the battleship Iowa.



He graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles in 1957 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature. His senior thesis was about the St. James Bible which he believed contained many of the English language’s most beautifully written passages.



Out of college, he returned to science as a computer systems analyst with System Development Corporation and was the editor for technical manuals for the maintenance and repair of the Atlas Missile System for Convair Astronautics. The life of missiles and computers was not for him and he went north to live on California’s Big Sur Coast in 1961. There, he taught himself to play guitar and became an accomplished classical guitarist. He also wrote scripts for programs in the golden age of television including Gun Smoke and Ben Casey, M.D.



He spent the academic year of 1962 commuting from Big Sur to the School of Architecture at U.C. Berkeley. He returned to Los Angeles in 1964 and opened a guitar teaching program in West Los Angeles and was a studio musician in Hollywood. His love and focus was classical guitar, but he played and taught all styles of guitar and the 5-string banjo. He had the specialty of teaching film actors with guitar playing roles to look like they were playing guitar. He worked with the 1960s American made for television group The Monkeys who were selected for their roles based on their appearances rather than their ability to play music.



A self directed student, he continued his studies of literature, music, art, and science all of his life. While living in Pacific Palisades, California he founded the organization No Oil Inc. which continues to this day defending the coast of southern California against oil exploration and development. In 1971 he became the Southern California Representative of the Sierra Club and, in 1974, National Conservation Director. In 1975 he moved to Sacramento to serve as the Deputy Secretary for Resources for the State of California in the administration of Governor Jerry Brown. Finding that Brown was more interested in the impression he made than the substance of his acts, Larry left the administration to be the Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League. He was particularly proud of the role he played in passage of the California Coastal Act and expansion of the Redwood National Park.



Larry moved to Humboldt County in 1978 to live in the coastal redwoods that he loved. While living in Trinidad and Big Lagoon, he was the western regional director of Wilderness Society for several years. He was a founding member of the Smith River Alliance and served as its President and Executive Director from 1990 to 1995. During that time he was instrumental in the establishment of the Smith River National Recreation Area. In 2003 he served as a member of the team which developed the Coho Salmon Recovery Strategy for the State of California.



Larry’s passion for gardening flourished when he moved to Big Lagoon in 1981 where he developed his vast Rhododendron garden. He was a 1991 Charter Member of the Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation and served as a member of the board of directors from 1995 and President from January 2000 to June 20, 2006 when he retired from the position because of poor health.



While President of HBGF, Larry worked tirelessly to further the construction of the Humboldt Botanical Garden which is located on Humboldt Bay, south of Eureka, California adjacent to the College of the Redwoods. The Garden’s final master plan, fund raising plan, coastal permit, construction documents, ground breaking, planting of the Wildberries Natural Riparian Area, construction of the Sun Valley Greenhouse, the first selection and ordering of plants and the commencement of the hardscape construction of the core gardens took place during his presidency.



His last visit to the Humboldt Botanical Garden was on June 8 in a Jeep driven by HBGF Executive Director Karen Angel. On June 19 he was delighted to see, while at home, an hour film showing the recent construction in the Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden which was filmed and narrated by Leonard Anderson of Mercer-Fraser Company. Mercer-Fraser Company of Eureka is the constructing the pathways, trails, retaining walls and viewing platforms in the Humboldt Botanical Garden. At the June 20 HBGF Board of Directors Meeting, he was presented with a Dove tree (Davidia involucrata) by the officers, directors, staff, and retired directors and staff of the HBGF. The Dove tree will be planted in the Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden in his honor.



Known in the conservation world for his ability to bring people with widely differing political perspectives together to develop policies and accomplish goals, Larry was particularly proud of the fact that the Humboldt Botanical Garden had supporters, volunteers, friends and donors from every political perspective. He was delighted to spend his last years in public services working on a project that served everyone and whose purposes are to conserve species of plants, educate the public and to bring beauty, peace and harmony to all.



Contributions honoring Larry Moss may be made to the Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation and dedicated to the construction of the Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden in the Humboldt Botanical Garden: HBGF, Post Office Box 6117, Eureka, CA 95502.
in Trinidad, CA, by the sea
no avatar
User

Peter May

Rank

Pinotage Advocate

Posts

3798

Joined

Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:24 am

Location

Snorbens, England

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Peter May » Sat Jun 24, 2006 6:56 am

Thanks for posting - sad news indeed.
no avatar
User

Robin Garr

Rank

Forum Janitor

Posts

21612

Joined

Fri Feb 17, 2006 1:44 pm

Location

Louisville, KY

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Robin Garr » Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:19 am

Very sad indeed, Jim. Larry was one of our real old-timers, going back to the early days of the WLDG. I remember when he used to try to solve the mysteries of the forum using the old "Web TV" browser, which was eminently frustrating, but he never gave up.
no avatar
User

Bob Henrick

Rank

Kamado Kommander

Posts

3919

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:35 pm

Location

Lexington, Ky.

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Bob Henrick » Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:41 am

Thanks for posting this Jim, although it is a very sad to read. Larry, as Robin said was one of the originals here, and I always enjoyed his take on wines. Obviously (now) Larry was so much more than just one who appreciated or better yet loved wine. Larry, I now find, was a true renaissance man in the fullest meaning of the term. He will be missed on this forum.
Bob Henrick
no avatar
User

JoePerry

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

1049

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:07 pm

Location

Boston

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by JoePerry » Sat Jun 24, 2006 10:13 am

Wow...
no avatar
User

Jenise

Rank

FLDG Dishwasher

Posts

42549

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm

Location

The Pacific Northest Westest

Oh no....

by Jenise » Sat Jun 24, 2006 10:26 am

I'm so, so sorry to hear this Jim. I always liked and respected Larry, and remember well both his informed impressions of wines and his passionate/knowledgeable defenses of various environmental issues. I'm sorry it took his passing for us to discover more about the whole of Larry--what a life!
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
no avatar
User

Patchen (Chicago)

Rank

Wine geek

Posts

42

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:57 pm

Location

Chicago, IL

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Patchen (Chicago) » Sat Jun 24, 2006 11:05 am

Thank you for posting this and including the press release, Jim. I remember Larry's posts well and fondly but didn't know about his long & admirable involvement in conservation. We'll find something appropriate to open in his memory tomorrow.

Patchen
no avatar
User

David M. Bueker

Rank

Riesling Guru

Posts

34253

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:52 am

Location

Connecticut

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by David M. Bueker » Sat Jun 24, 2006 12:34 pm

A sad loss, but clearly a life well lived.
Decisions are made by those who show up
no avatar
User

Mike Filigenzi

Rank

Known for his fashionable hair

Posts

8187

Joined

Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:43 pm

Location

Sacramento, CA

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Mike Filigenzi » Sat Jun 24, 2006 1:34 pm

David M. Bueker wrote:A sad loss, but clearly a life well lived.


I can't add anything to that. We'll miss him around here.

Thanks, Jim.


Mike
"People who love to eat are always the best people"

- Julia Child
no avatar
User

SteveEdmunds

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

985

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:05 am

Location

Berkeley, CA

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by SteveEdmunds » Sat Jun 24, 2006 2:21 pm

I had the privilege and pleasure to spend an evening in Larry's company some years back, at Lalime's Restaurant in Berkeley, and though I knew very little about the details of Larry's history, none of it surprises me; he was a very sweet human being, and I'm sorry there won't be another such evening, but I'll also treasure the one I had.
I don't know just how I'm supposed to play this scene, but I ain't afraid to learn...
no avatar
User

Saina

Rank

Musaroholic

Posts

3976

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:07 pm

Location

Helsinki, Finland

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Saina » Sat Jun 24, 2006 3:38 pm

I'm sorry to hear this. I haven't been on this board for very long, but I do remember reading his opinions (as they were delighful and well written!) on the pre-netscrap board.
I don't drink wine because of religious reasons ... only for other reasons.
no avatar
User

Lou Kessler

Rank

Doesn't buy green bananas

Posts

3517

Joined

Fri Mar 24, 2006 3:20 pm

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Lou Kessler » Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:09 pm

I exchanged a few emails with Larry on diverse subjects years ago and remember saying to myself, I've got to meet this person someday. Not living that far away I should have acted. After reading how he had lived his life I feel I cheated myself by not making that small effort to meet him.
The world at this time desperately needs more people like him.
no avatar
User

Dale Williams

Rank

Compassionate Connoisseur

Posts

11125

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:32 pm

Location

Dobbs Ferry, NY (NYC metro)

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Dale Williams » Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:31 pm

Sad to hear this, always enjoyed his input.
no avatar
User

Paul B.

Rank

Hybrid Guru

Posts

2063

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:38 pm

Location

Ontario, Canada

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Paul B. » Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:53 am

It's always sad to hear of the passing of a long-time member of our community, and although I didn't know Larry personally, I can say that I will remember my brief conversations with him on the old WLDG with fondness. His achievements are admirable, and I will always remember him as a true gentleman. May he rest in peace.
http://hybridwines.blogspot.ca
no avatar
User

Rahsaan

Rank

Wild and Crazy Guy

Posts

9216

Joined

Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:20 pm

Location

New York, NY

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Rahsaan » Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:24 am

Wow, sorry to hear it, but in addition to his fine taste in Loire wines it sounds like he led a wonderful life.
no avatar
User

Bob Parsons Alberta

Rank

aka Doris

Posts

10773

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:09 pm

Re: Sad news: the passing of Larry Moss

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Sun Jun 25, 2006 8:02 am

Have researched some of his posts on the old place. Very good writer and terrific palate, he seemed to draw a lot of respect. Guess he would have been here commenting on the current range of Muscadet notes! Thanks Larry.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: AhrefsBot, Amazonbot and 1 guest

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign