Larry Gano

Larry Gano, 79, died July 27, 2022, at Wesley Woods Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Waco, Texas. A memorial service will be held at 10:00am, Tuesday, August 30, 2022, at Waco Memorial Park Mausoleum Chapel, 6623 S IH 35, in Waco.

Larry was born August 30, 1942, in Cherokee, Iowa to Lowell and Ruby Anderson Gano.  He graduated from Aurelia High School in 1960.  After graduation, Larry served in the US Army - Combat Military Police, where he was stationed in Germany.

In 1964, Larry married Mary Susan Pettit and they went on to have three children, Kelli, Chris, and Eric.

Larry’s many years of work history include a Combat Military Policeman for the US Army in Germany (1960/63), Federal Surveyor in Arizona (1963/64), the Phoenix Police Department-Officer (1964/67), Bureau of Land Management (Kingman, AZ/Salem, OR) and finally Wildwood Recreational Area Park Supervisor near Mount Hood, OR (1967/75).  He then became a US Customs Patrol Officer (Portland, OR/Coos Bay, OR) (1975/79).  He worked and oversaw several smuggling cases.  Most notably, in the Coos Bay, OR area, he oversaw one of the largest Tia-Stick smuggling busts in US history (1977).

Larry left Customs and moved to the Seattle area for a short time and opened a wood stove shop (1979/80).  Thereafter, he returned to US Customs (1979) and spent the rest of his working career first as a US Customs Special Agent.  Again, working countless smuggling cases and did deep undercover work in many locations. He then became a US Customs Resident Agent in Charge (RAC) and was on a special inter-agency task force in Arizona. Finally, he became a US Customs Assistant Supervisory Agent in Charge (ASAC) until he retired in December of 1995.

Larry’s hobbies and interests included family, traveling, visiting friends, but most of all… fishing.  Fishing was his pride and joy. Larry loved his time out on the water, especially with friends or family.  His greatest joy in life was to be on the water with you even if he was not the one fishing. He would bait your hook, get your line unstuck from trees, take the worm out of the fish’s mouth, and loved every second of it.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lowell and Ruby Gano and brother, Lorne Gano.

Larry is survived by his wife, Mary Susan Gano; daughter, Kelli Hall and husband, Andrew; sons, Christopher Gano and wife, Darlene and Eric Gano; grandchildren, Kimberlee Crawford (who was also his caregiver), Melissa Hanna, Cheyna Hobbs, Alex Holmes, and Quinn Montes; nine great-grandchildren; sisters, Peg Fastenow and Polly Rapp; and numerous extended family members in Iowa.