Lawrence "Larry" Joel Standish

Lawrence Joel “Larry” Standish, 76, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Ellensburg on Saturday, February 18, 2023.  A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at Johnston & Williams Funeral Home in Ellensburg.

Larry was born on October 22, 1946 in Olympia, Washington to Lawrence Nathan & Violet Kathryn (Hedges) Standish.  He was raised in Leavenworth and graduated from Leavenworth High School in 1964. He went on to attend Central Washington State College (now CWU) in Ellensburg before being drafted into the United States Army where he served in combat during the Vietnam War.

Following his discharge, Larry returned to Ellensburg where he continued his college education, graduating from Central with his bachelor's degree in geography. His first job out of college was working for the United States Forest Service before joining the Bureau of Land Management.  His work with BLM took him to Alaska for many years before he decided to return to Ellensburg, taking a job with the Kittitas Reclamation District where he worked until retirement.

In his younger years, Larry enjoyed taking long backpacking trips through Alpine Lakes, Enchantments and Snow Lakes. Later in life, he found great joy in spending time with his mother, Violet, taking her to breakfast at Perkins, going for rides in the car, grocery shopping and just spending time with her.  He was also a fixture at The Tav, where he would spend many hours with his friends discussing and solving the world’s problems.

Larry is survived by his sisters Valarie (Richard) Olivers of Redmond and Kathryn Standish of Bellevue; brother David Standish of Ellensburg; nieces and nephews Jack Olivers, Adrienne Olivers, Tami (Matt) Willey, Kayla (Clint) Steindl, Nate (Teresa) Standish, Joe (Nicole) Standish as well as nine great-nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents as well as niece-in-law, Mackenzie Salvage Olivers.

Memorial contributions in Larry’s honor are suggested to the Kittitas County Veterans Coalition, 507 N Nanum St, Ellensburg, WA 98926

Johnston & Williams Funeral Home and Crematory of Ellensburg has been entrusted with caring for Mr. Standish and his family.  Online condolences may be left at www.johnston-williams.com 

PLEASE NOTE: (January 11, 2024) -- The recording of this service has been archived and removed from our server.  If you wish to obtain a copy of this recording on a thumb drive, please contact our office.