Larry Lane Fierst

Larry Lane Fierst was born in Youngstown, Pennsylvania on July 15, 1940 as the first of eleven children by Lawrence James Fierst and Betty Ann Gettamy. Larry grew up in Greensburg, PA and graduated from Hempfield High School in 1958. He joined the US Airforce in 1959 and served four-years at Bergstrom Air Force base outside of Austin, Texas as an Air Policeman. While in the military, he was an amateur boxer and renowned for his physical strength.  After the Air Force, Larry moved from his beloved Western Pennsylvania to Northwest Indiana, where Bethlehem Steel’s then new Burns Harbor plant was modernizing steel making. As the General Forman of the #1 rollshop at Bethlehem Steel and its successor companies, Larry revolutionized the U.S. chrome roll industry and mentored many steel laborers. His work ethic was unsurpassed, and he devoted almost his entire adult life to the steel industry, retiring from Cleveland Cliffs at the age of 84!  Larry was a brilliant man and self-taught in engineering, chemistry, and literature. He reveled in family games of Trivial Pursuit, usually knowing the hardest answers. Few people could match Larry’s intelligence, but he hated the limelight and never sought attention. Larry was an avid hunter who loved nature and conservation; he was an active member of the Michigan City Rifle Club in Michigan City, Indiana. Larry relished the annual Fierst Family Reunion and the time he spent there with his three sisters and seven brothers and their families.  Larry is survived by three children, Lane Michael [Ryan], Christopher Marshall, and Pamela Fierst-Walsh [Tim], and their mother, Michelle Fierst; brothers Gary, David [Susan], Roger [Pat], Mark [Kris], Lindsey [Karen], Eric [Tracy]; and sisters Sharon Wonsettler [Joe], Karen Griffin, and Debbie Slivensky. RIP in peace Dad. We will always love you.  Friends will be received from 4 to 7 PM Thursday, October 16 at the LEO M. BACHA FUNERAL HOME, INC., 2072 Route 130, Pleasant Unity where a funeral liturgy will be held at 10 AM Friday with The Rev. Ken Zaccagniani as celebrant followed by military honors by the Armbrust Veterans.  Interment will follow in Fairmont Cemetery, Cook Township.   

www.bachafh.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Larry Lane Fierst, please visit our floral store.