Remembering Dick and Myra Larkin - National Association of ...

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Remembering Dick and MyraDick Larkin: 11/05/1933 – 04/18/2009Myra Larkin: 08/12/1935 – 04/18/2009As we prepared to return home from theNAPAA conference in Savannah on Saturday,April 18th, Nancy Fish rummagedaround the contents of her purse to find hercell phone so she could place the phone callthat would bring grief and sadness to manycurrent and former Allstate agents.An hour and a half after her call to theNassau County Sheriff ’s Department inFlorida, a detective called back to report thedreadful news—Dick and Myra Larkinwere found dead in their home. But sinceDick and Myra’s next of kin had not yet beennotified, the detective was unable to disclosethe cause or the circumstances surroundingtheir deaths. All we could do was speculateabout how they died. Later we learned thetragic truth; they were bludgeoned to death.Dick was a well-known figure amongAllstate agents. He was a tireless proponentof agent rights throughout his career as anAllstate agent, a career that spanned a thirdof a century or more. A prolific writer, Dickcontributed many articles to Exclusivefocusand DirectWriter magazines over the years,the last of which appeared in the spring editionof Exclusivefocus. Dick was an ardentsupporter of NAPAA and one of its foundingmembers. He served many terms on theNAPAA Board of Directors and was theeditor of DirectWriter magazine. He wasthe NAPAA Executive Vice President at thetime of his death. Dick was admired and respectedby many and will be greatly missed.As word of the tragedy spread, severalcurrent and former colleagues wrote toexpress their remembrances of Dick andMyra. We have printed these letters oftribute below:I lost two dear friends this past April.It is hard to discuss the deaths of Dickand Myra Larkin without wanting to talkabout how they died. The priest at theirfuneral service said it best when he statedthat “any discussion of how they diedwould only hurt their family and friends.”Dick and I, along with our wives,traveled to more than 40 states while Iwas president of NAPAA. These “roadshows,” as they were called, were someof the best years of our lives. Dick had asincere desire to improve the agents’ relationshipwith Allstate. The ability foragents to “sell their books of business”was perhaps one of his major successes.I believe that every agent, past and present,owes a debt of gratitude for his manyyears of service with NAPAA.There are many memories that I haveof Dick and Myra and will think them16 — Exclusivefocus Summer 2009
often. Dick loved food. Wherever wetraveled, his first words of the day were,“Where are we eating breakfast?” Then,before we would get into the car afterbreakfast, Dick wanted to know whenand where we would be having lunch.Meal planning was paramount to Dick.When it came to driving, you could notlet Dick behind the wheel. He was theworst driver I ever knew. The first timeI rode with him, he was passing tractortrailers on the inside. I thought he wastrying to scare me, but after riding withhim for an hour or so, I realized he drovethat way all the time. Consequently, Inever let him drive again!Then there was the lovely Miss Myra,who suffered from a condition Dick called“a bashful bladder.” It took her a longwhile whenever she went to use the bathroom;so many hours were spent waitingfor Miss Myra. On more than one occasion,she got lost while going to restroomsin large restaurants. Dick would wait 30minutes or so and announce “let’s findMyra, she’s lost again.”Yes, I have fond memories of Dickand Myra that I will cherish until I die.But the most important thing I will rememberis that we laughed much morethan we cried. After all, that’s whatfriends do.Bill CookeNAPAA Past PresidentThe Villages, FloridaA pioneer, in fact, a fearless pioneer, ishow I remember Dick Larkin.Few knew that Dick was the onlyemployee agent at Allstate who was onpermanent “Job in Jeopardy.” Long beforethe National Neighborhood OfficeAgents Club (NNOAC) was a glimmerin Jim Cason’s eye, Dick was busy writingan agent newsletter in the CapitolRegion, identifying some of the abusesthat were heaped on employee agents atthe time. Dick was called out by managementand told that he could neverprint any “untruths” about Allstate andits treatment of its agency force or hewould be fired. This did not stop him.In fact, Dick began to write and pub-lish even more articles, not only in hisRegion, but after joining NNOAC, allacross the nation. Because what he wrotewas well-researched, well-documentedand always factual, he was never terminatedeven though he was often criticalof the company.I first met Dick in Louisville when weformed NNOAC, which is now knownas NAPAA. We worked together to writethe association’s original bylaws. Fromthat point forward, Dick was committedto improving the relationship betweenagents and the company. He traveledfrom coast to coast, wrote investigativereports and was instrumental in inspiringthe award-winning article titled “Stalkedby Allstate,” authored by Richard Beharand published in Fortune magazine.Serving as an officer, board member,editor and legal advisor for NNOAC andNAPAA, I can think of no other personmore dedicated to the plight of agents,not only those working for Allstate, butthose with other captive carriers. It wasbecause of his passion for captive agentsthat he served in various capacities, includingpresident and board member ofthe Coalition of Exclusive Agents Association,a group of captive agent associationsthat sought fairer treatment andincluded Allstate, State Farm, Farmersand American Family.Upon his retirement, Dick steppeddown from the NAPAA Board of Directors.But after a brief hiatus, Dick cameout of retirement and, once again, becameinvolved with his beloved association. Atthe time of his death, he was serving asNAPAA’s Executive Vice President andwas still contributing articles for Exclusivefocusmagazine.One last memory of Dick was whenhe exposed a tie between Allstate and thephilosophy of the Church of Scientology.The Church of Scientology demandedthat he stop his investigation. Then,when someone broke into his home andshot a bullet in his closet leaving a neathole in every pair of pants that hungthere, he took it as a warning from theScientologists, who he claimed wantedto underscore their displeasure with hisactions. In spite this, Dick did not backdown. He never missed a beat and publishedhis findings.Dick, I will miss you. I am sure thatheaven will be a better place once you’vehad a few years to straighten out anyproblems up there.John LindsayNAPAA Past PresidentPowder Springs, GAHow does one define the man thatwas Dick Larkin? Is it courage, or selflessness?Is it intelligence, dedication or perseverance?In short, my definition of DickLarkin embodies all these noble traits andmore. Perhaps, even more defining is thatDick lived to help the agent.For more than a decade, his passionrubbed off on me. I look back on thoseyears in my life and I am proud to havebeen associated with Dick, NAPAA,and the agents. What we accomplishedtogether has created a bond that has notbeen broken by Dick’s physical death. Ourfriendship will remain with me forever.The power of the pen took on newmeaning whenever Dick was involved.I wish he could still give me advice. Forinstance, what to write regarding what Ithink he would say if he was here today.Three things come to mind:1. He would not acknowledge thisor the other accolades that appear inthis magazine. Rather, he would quicklymove on to another subject. You see thisgreat man was humble too.2. He would want us to pray for hisfamily. They are going through manytough challenges.Summer 2009 Exclusivefocus — 17
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