Larry K. Sharpf ~ February 17, 1938 - February 1, 2021
February 7, 2021
Larry K. Sharpf went home to be with the Lord peacefully on February 1, 2021 in a Palm Springs, California hospital with his wonderful caregiver Nina Dunav by his side. He is survived by his two daughters, Deborah Orstad and her husband Mike; and Jennifer Herndon and her husband Mark; four grandchildren, three great grandchildren, two sisters, several nieces and nephews and many loving friends. He was preceded in death by his mother, father, brother and second wife. He resided in Vancouver, Washington and spent winters in Palm Springs, California. He was 82 years old.
Larry had a full and very successful life. He was born February 17, 1938 in Peru, Indiana to Norma and Lewis Sharpf. He married Beverly Schaub in the summer of 1958. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in 1962. They had two daughters together. His career moved them from Indiana to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, California and back to Oregon. He was dedicated, driven and worked hard in his career to provide for his family.
He worked at Union Carbide, Precision Castparts, W.R. Grace and Teledyne Castparts. After leaving Teledyne in1982 he established a consulting business, Selmet (short for Sell Metals). One of Selmets first clients was REM, a distressed metals casting company in Albany, Oregon. He bought REM and reopened its doors as Selmet. Selmet became a state of the art investment casting foundry which manufactured parts for a variety of programs including the Boeing 737, Airbus A320, and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. His leadership helped Selmet produce the worlds first titanium golf club in 1987. The company started with 18 employees. Larry grew the company to over 500 employees before he sold to Blue Point Capital Partners in 2011. Selmet is still operating today.
In 1988 he married Barbara Alderman. They lived in Central Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. They shared their love of entrepreneurship and started their own property company Selpro (short for Sell Property). Larry cared for Barbara in her battle with Alzheimers religiously by her side every day. Barbara went to be with the Lord in February 2016.
Larry was awarded the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association on May 17, 2017.
Larry loved sports. He played basketball, football and baseball in his high school years and continued to follow sports teams the rest of his life. He golfed, fished, square danced, played cards and even skied in the Pacific Northwest. He could tell many tales of his childhood, siblings, college years, career years, sports and life. He loved to engage with others and tell stories. He also enjoyed the slot machines at the casino in his later years.
Larry was a Christian and loved the Lord. He loved his family and his friends. He often said the Lord blessed him with a good and successful life and career and he wanted to pay it forward. He gave generously to his church, family, alma mater Indiana University, friends, employees and even neighbors. He donated to the Entrepreneurship program at IU and also to Alzheimer research at IU School of Medicine.
Larry always had a love for people and helping others. In 2018 he started the Larry K. Sharpf Educational Scholarship Foundation. The foundation was created to give back to Albany and surrounding communities that helped and so generously gave their time to the success of Selmet. The foundation awards college scholarships to students that may not have the financial ability to fund their dream of going to college. He referred to it as a “gift”.
We have had the tremendous blessing of knowing and loving Larry and we will continue to learn from him moving forward. He will be forever cherished and missed. We stand on God’s wonderful promise that we will reunite in Heaven for all of eternity.
“Death is no punishment to the believer: it is the gate of endless joy.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
I am proud to say Larry K. Sharpf was my dad. ~ Jennifer Herndon
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” ~ Isaiah 40:31
In memoriam, we ask that you visit lksscholarship.org to donate to his Foundation to keep his “gift” alive. Thank you.
Larry had a full and very successful life. He was born February 17, 1938 in Peru, Indiana to Norma and Lewis Sharpf. He married Beverly Schaub in the summer of 1958. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in 1962. They had two daughters together. His career moved them from Indiana to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, California and back to Oregon. He was dedicated, driven and worked hard in his career to provide for his family.
He worked at Union Carbide, Precision Castparts, W.R. Grace and Teledyne Castparts. After leaving Teledyne in1982 he established a consulting business, Selmet (short for Sell Metals). One of Selmets first clients was REM, a distressed metals casting company in Albany, Oregon. He bought REM and reopened its doors as Selmet. Selmet became a state of the art investment casting foundry which manufactured parts for a variety of programs including the Boeing 737, Airbus A320, and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. His leadership helped Selmet produce the worlds first titanium golf club in 1987. The company started with 18 employees. Larry grew the company to over 500 employees before he sold to Blue Point Capital Partners in 2011. Selmet is still operating today.
In 1988 he married Barbara Alderman. They lived in Central Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. They shared their love of entrepreneurship and started their own property company Selpro (short for Sell Property). Larry cared for Barbara in her battle with Alzheimers religiously by her side every day. Barbara went to be with the Lord in February 2016.
Larry was awarded the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association on May 17, 2017.
Larry loved sports. He played basketball, football and baseball in his high school years and continued to follow sports teams the rest of his life. He golfed, fished, square danced, played cards and even skied in the Pacific Northwest. He could tell many tales of his childhood, siblings, college years, career years, sports and life. He loved to engage with others and tell stories. He also enjoyed the slot machines at the casino in his later years.
Larry was a Christian and loved the Lord. He loved his family and his friends. He often said the Lord blessed him with a good and successful life and career and he wanted to pay it forward. He gave generously to his church, family, alma mater Indiana University, friends, employees and even neighbors. He donated to the Entrepreneurship program at IU and also to Alzheimer research at IU School of Medicine.
Larry always had a love for people and helping others. In 2018 he started the Larry K. Sharpf Educational Scholarship Foundation. The foundation was created to give back to Albany and surrounding communities that helped and so generously gave their time to the success of Selmet. The foundation awards college scholarships to students that may not have the financial ability to fund their dream of going to college. He referred to it as a “gift”.
We have had the tremendous blessing of knowing and loving Larry and we will continue to learn from him moving forward. He will be forever cherished and missed. We stand on God’s wonderful promise that we will reunite in Heaven for all of eternity.
“Death is no punishment to the believer: it is the gate of endless joy.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
I am proud to say Larry K. Sharpf was my dad. ~ Jennifer Herndon
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” ~ Isaiah 40:31
In memoriam, we ask that you visit lksscholarship.org to donate to his Foundation to keep his “gift” alive. Thank you.