Lawrence “Larry” J. Franck, retired attorney, died August 4, 2014. Visitation will be 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.  Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral.  The services will follow at 11 a.m. with interment in the St. Andrew’s Columbarium.

Larry Franck was born on Sept. 10, 1931, in Vicksburg to Charles E. and Angela H. Franck.  He graduated from St. Aloysius High School in 1949 and from the University of Mississippi in 1953.  During his undergraduate studies at Ole Miss, Larry was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.  He received many honors, including being selected student commander of the Army ROTC unit, being named to Omicron Delta Kappa and Scabbard and Blade, and being elected Editor of The Mississippian, the student newspaper.  In 1953, he was elected to the Ole Miss Hall of Fame.

Upon graduating from Ole Miss, Larry entered the Army, serving as a paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division, and serving a year in Iceland.  Following his discharge as a First Lieutenant, Larry entered the Ole Miss Law School, graduating with distinction and first in his class of 1958.  In Law School he was named to the Mississippi Law Journal and the Moot Court Board.

During his last semester in Law School, Larry married Dorothy R. Walker. After graduation, they moved to Vicksburg for several years, and then to Jackson where Larry became a member of the Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada law firm, with whom he practiced until his retirement in 2000.  In 1972, Larry published an article in the Mississippi Law Journal, which was relied upon by the Mississippi Supreme Court in adopting the most sweeping procedural reforms in the Mississippi judicial system in over a century.  He also published several other scholarly articles, lectured at various legal educational seminars, and served on several occasions as adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law.  He was appointed to the Mississippi Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules, on which he served for sixteen years, including seven as Chairman.

In 1976, Larry was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers.  He served as President of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association and was a charter Director and past President of the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit.  He was awarded the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award, the Mississippi Bar Foundation Professionalism Award, the Mississippi Bar Award of Merit and its Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest award given by the Mississippi Bar.  In 2012, he was inducted into the University of Mississippi School of Law Alumni Hall of Fame.

Throughout his life, Larry was deeply involved in various church activities and services.  As a member of St. Richard’s Catholic Church, he became a lay expert on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and presented many programs on them throughout the state.  He served as Vice-President of the National Council of Catholic Laity.  In later years, as a communicant of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral, where he found his spiritual home, Larry (along with Dot) served as a Lay Eucharistic Visitor.  He also served for many years as a Lector and as a Convener of the Liturgy Commission.

Larry was an avid golfer and especially cherished playing with the Senior Men’s Golf Group at the Country Club of Jackson.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Etienne Franck and Angela Haupt Franck, his brother Charles, and his sister Marilyn Hosemann.

Larry was devoted to and deeply loved by his family by whom he is survived, his beloved wife of 56 years, Dorothy W. Franck, their children and grandchildren; two daughters, Alicia Franck, of Atlanta, and Angela Franck Simpkins and her husband, Kelly; their children, Kenan, Lockard, and Jubilee, of Madison; and son Lawrence W. Franck and his wife Cathy; their children, Walker and Courtney Carol, of Brookhaven. Larry delighted in them all, their growth and accomplishments, and was extremely proud of them.

The family requests that memorials be made to St. Andrew’s Cathedral, 305 East Capitol Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39201 or Hospice Ministries of Ridgeland, 450 Towne Center Blvd., Ridgeland, MS 39157.