I"Love Thy Partner"...Larry Hoey did.  Larry's talent, intelligence, energy, and complexity contributed  greatly to the Milwaukee community. 

When dancing with Larry, I felt appreciated, challenged, stretched and honored.  In swing dancing, Larry demonstrated his incredible skills as a leader and thinker.  .  We developed our dance partnership: we had to negotiate, practice and trust.  I would laugh when he affirmed my improved ability to follow him.  This meant I no longer bounced up against the opposite wall when he did a Lindy Hop. 

Friends said Larry intimidated them by his power as a dancer; could it also be his shyness, aloof manners, and super competence?  I was told that Larry didn't talk much in his first two years as a folk dancer in Milwaukee.  When I met him many years later, Larry loved to stay past 10:00 PM and visit with his those in his close circle.  He laughed, sparkled and listened to stories and news. 

Larry was one of the few men  who loved to hear stories of my political activism.  Larry especially loved to dance with Kay Josten. Because Kay has a significant other, I would ask him to dance to clear a path for Larry to swing dance with Kay.  He admired Tom Seery and shared with me his respect for Tom's sense of fair play and justice.  What a memory: all of us who had a chance to not only line dance with Larry  but also to hold him in a more intimate dance, know what it felt like to "Love Thy Partner". 

Larry deeply appreciated his dance community. 

Larry, I didn't know it was the last dance.  There is a hole in my heart. 

Pat Mc Farland - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
mcfarlap@milwaukee.tec.wi.us