Obituary of Larry Darnell Lipsey

Larry Darnell Lipsey was born October 19, 1961 to Mary L. Bloodworth and the late Carl Clinton Fields in Okolona, Mississippi. In 1968, Larry moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Larry can best be described as his favorite color -midnight blue. You had to get close to him to see his true color. He was a patient brother who took the time to teach his sister how to drive a stick shift. He was a quirky uncle who told embellished stories and gave unsolicited advice at family gatherings that had everyone rolling their eyes—not knowing which parts of his stories to believe. But he was also the uncle who would help you out when needed. He flew across the country to help his niece drive from Las Vegas to Kalamazoo—having the patience to endure a 24-hour drive with two of his nieces. His only charge was a bucket of chicken. He was the uncle who gave up his weekend to help his nephew fix his car. After high school, Larry enlisted in the National Guard in 1979, faithfully serving until 1985. Once he returned to Kalamazoo, he worked for various companies in the Kalamazoo area including Diapers Unlimited, Bekins Van Lines and Chemerex. In the late 1990’s Larry suffered a work-related head injury that left him disabled due to seizures and black-outs. After his injury he began speaking in a Jamaican accent that puzzled and irritated his family. It was years later, after the accent faded, that his family learned of the medical condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome and realized he wasn’t faking the accent. This injury also seemed to unlock Larry’s creative side. His mind began bursting with ideas and inventions that he had difficulty expressing to other people. He took multiple photographs of clouds, trying to get others to see the images and impressions he saw in the clouds. He started writing poetry and drawing. He started a company and called it “Lessons of My Youth” to sell his pictures and poetry. Being on disability frustrated Larry. Showing no signs of seizures for several years, Larry went back to work at Western Diversified Plastics. Larry had a tireless work ethic and unwavering focus when he was working on a project or task. He seldom took breaks or ate when he was working. He was open to learning new skills. After helping his brother-in-law remodel a kitchen, he practiced some of his new-found skills on his mother’s home. Larry eventually suffered the consequences of decades of smoking, suffering a heart attack in 2018 and a diagnosis of lung cancer a year later. He spent the last few months of his life being cared for by his family. He left his earthly body on March 3, 2020. He accepted Christ at an early age and his family takes comfort in knowing his spirit will live on. Larry leaves a legacy of creativity, a strong work ethic, unwavering focus and willingness to learn to his family. To celebrate his life, he is survived by two sons, Larry Sykes and Elijah Lipsey; his mother Mary J Bloodworth; two sisters Stephani (Walter) Herbert, Sheila Lipsey (Gayle Sears); two brothers, Charles (Devona) Lipsey and Blake Eason (Mary Brownell); six grandchildren, Jamin Darnell Purtha, Sincere Darnell King Sykes and La-Quarius Darnell Lee Sykes, Josiah Lipsey, Jordan Lipsey and Ella Perkin; three nieces, Erika (Gerard) Brown, Alyssa Laney, Raegan Herbert, and Amaris Lipsey; four nephews, Jordan Laney, Charles Lipsey-McCall, Nicholas Herbert and Joshua Lipsey and a host of other relatives and friends.