Lawrence E. Hart, 84, died on Jan. 16, 2021 in Temple.
He was born on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio, the second child of Don A. Hart Sr. and Esther Downs Hart.
He lived and worked in Austin from 1942 to 1999.
Larry had two brothers, Don Hart and Joe Hart, both deceased. He previously was married for 24 years and had a son, Brian Hart, and a daughter, Lisa Hart.
Larry and his wife Becky Denison Hart were married in 1986, reared her three children Bryan, Elizabeth and Tyler Byrd, and then moved to Lampasas in 1999.
Larry graduated from The University of Texas in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and physics. He had active-duty service in the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1963, and later separated at the rank of captain. Larry then worked at Rainhart Co. in the development, production and marketing of test equipment for professional engineers. He served as president from 1972 to 1996 – the year he sold the business to new owners.
During this time he was a leader in the Texas Association of Business, ASTM International and Transportation Research Board (National Academy of Sciences). Larry is named an inventor in U.S. Patent 5,275,056 gyratory shear material compacting device. He was awarded the ASTM Committee E-17 Outstanding Achievement Award in 1989 and then received the 1995 ASTM Tilton E. Shelburne Memorial Award.
Larry became a giving man, which led to service wherever he was involved. He was a founder of the Questors Class at the University Methodist Church in Austin. Twice he was president of the Austin Square & Round Dance Council. Larry also served three years as the initial president of the Foreign Trade Zone of Central Texas.
In the 1990s he was a deacon and led as an elder at North Austin Christian Church. In Lampasas, Larry became a lay speaker at First United Methodist Church and later was elected the lay leader.
Also, he served on the Board of Directors for the Lampasas Central Appraisal District and the Board of Directors for ConneXion House Inc. At the time of his death, Larry was on record with Carter BloodCare for donating 221 units of whole blood.
