Annual Report 2011 - Greater Springfield Senior Services

Larry Humphries
Larry Humphries is a remarkable man
whose life is a testimony to optimism,
kindness – and the resilience of the
human spirit.
Larry, his twin sister, and their biological brother grew
up in a Springfield foster home.
What schooling Larry had consisted of ballet classes and
a special class for what was then termed “slow learners.” As
a result, he endured years of teasing and name calling by
other schoolchildren. At 16, he quit to earn money to help
his family and pay for his ballet lessons. A few years later, he
got drafted into the Korean War, and served with the 76th
Engineer Construction Battalion.
After the war, and while working at a Springfield art
gallery, Larry met Ted Shawn, founder and director of Jacob’s
Pillow, a dance Mecca in Becket. “I told him I’d be willing to
do any job at the Pillow just to be in the atmosphere of the
dance,” says Larry. Ted offered him a job as publicity assistant
and house manager, and from 1961 to 1969 Larry did
everything from stuffing envelopes to managing tours for
world-class ballet, ethnic and modern dancers.
Larry didn’t neglect
his own joy in music
and dance and
performed in a few
regional ballets. He
eventually became
co-director and owner
of the Ballet Theater
School of Springfield,
did several tours of
Europe with the Young at Heart Chorus of Northampton,
and performed with the Singin’Swingin’Seniors of Chicopee.
In 2001, Larry was diagnosed with macular degeneration.
Declared legally blind, he had to stop driving, that last vestige
of independence, and began receiving assistance from
Greater Springfield Senior Services.
“That hurt, but sorrow wasn’t enough. I decided I had
to find something to do as I always had before.” He now
volunteers and lectures at the senior center, is active in
several veterans groups,
and helps others coping
with vision loss. “I feel so
good to think I’m helping
somebody with an eye
problem. It can be so
difficult to cope with, especially
when it first happens.”
Larry’s pièce de résistance
was being invited
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