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Larry joined the Air Force and took his basic training at Camp Shelby and at Keesler. He completed Officers Training School in Miami Beach and was sent to Belleville, 111. He met his wife, Lois, there. Ironically, they met through a friend of his mother?s who had visited the family store in Natchez. She was bom in St. Louis, Mo., across the river from Belleville.
Lois had attended Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans and continued her education at Washington University in Illinois to complete her degree in business and sociology. She had planned to become a social worker but ended up teaching. After they married, she moved along with him as he was stationed in Texas, Florida, and then to Kansas, where he was a gunnery7 instructor on B-29s. They have been married for 58 years.
In 1945, they returned to Natchez where he went into the retail business with his brothers. They operated a specialty store and two department stores. They took over Cole and Co. Store, a Natchez landmark, in 1950. Larry served as president of the Natchez Rotary Club and as president of the Natchez Chamber of Commerce during this period. Lois taught at the middle school in Natchez for 9 years.
They offered fashion shows at the store and Linda Lee Mead, who later became Miss America, was one of their models. In 1976, they sold the stores and Larry and Lois moved to Diamondhead, where he opened a real estate office. He also volunteered with the Gulf Coast Chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) for 10 years and chaired the organization for part of that period. He received an award for his work with them. Lois taught at Hancock North Central School for 10 years.
They have two children. Larry Abrams Jr. and his wife, Lynn, live in Chappaqua, N.Y. They have two children, Gavin and Danielle. Daughter Lynn Berkeley and husband, Alan, live in Chevy Chase, Md. They have three children, Michael, Stephen and Jennifer.
Lois is a member of the Diamond-head Garden Club, the Newcomer?s Club and volunteers at Hope Haven, through her membership in the Diamondhead Woman?s Club. They are members of the Diamondhead Hebrew Congregation. When Lois retired from teaching, she began working with the GED program, helping people get their high school diploma. She also enjoys