Lawrence Norman Diggs

Lawrence Norman Diggs was born on October 4, 1937, to Margaret and Edward Jackson Diggs. He was the little brother to Jack, Dick, and Gene, with a baby sister named Kathryn. Larry, as he was known to most people, attended school at St. Gregory and U of D, before pursuing a college education at Lawrence Tech.

He met his future wife, Marylou Pawlik, while hanging out at his buddy Bob Michalik’s house. She was best friends with Bob’s sister, Barbara. The couple wed on May 26, 1962, and started their more than sixty-year journey together in Detroit. There they welcomed Gregory Lawrence and then Lisa Louise into the family. Eventually the foursome moved to Livonia, where Marylou and Larry would remain.
Early on in their marriage, Larry joined the Air Force Reserves and headed to Texas for training. Fortunately, the Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved peacefully, so he headed safely home to pursue his career. As a young man he had a wide variety of jobs ranging from selling Christmas trees to working in a men’s clothing store. Eventually he landed in the insurance business, as he liked to call it, and rose up through the ranks at companies like Fidelity & Deposit, Fred S. James, and Corroon & Black. At the age of 62, he retired as a Vice President from Willis Corroon.

Throughout the years, Larry worked hard to take care of his family, and to be able to travel in his free time. He and his wife, Marylou, shared a passion for seeing the world, a wanderlust that he was proud to have passed on to his children. In fact, before the kids even graduated from high school, the family had been to 49 states together, and would add Alaska to the list shortly thereafter. Over time, Larry had the opportunity to horseback ride in the Badlands, attend the Masters in Augusta, and cheer on Team USA at the Olympics in LA. He went on safari in South Africa, visited the Kremlin in Moscow, and marveled at the Pyramids in Egypt. Most recently, at age 86, he took his first chairlift ride up a mountain in the Upper Peninsula. By the end, his passport had made it to more than 20 countries.
One of his favorite parts of every trip was snapping photos, and when he retired, he combined those passions into a new venture he called Picture This. He loved making pictures, and telling the tales of his adventures when he sold the photographs at local shows. During this period, he even served as president of the Livonia Camera Club for ten years.
Aside from photography, Larry was a lover of golf. Though he would be the first to admit that he loved the game more than it seemed to love him. Yet, he enjoyed years of playing with family and friends at Western Golf and Country Club, among many other courses. Once he gave up playing, he would spend countless hours watching tournaments on television. He was an avid fan of many sports, and was excited to see his Lions finally giving us all something to talk about. He was also a member of the Detroit Athletic Club for a quarter of a century and loved the camaraderie of bowling there on Tuesday nights.

Larry passed away at Ascension Providence Hospital on December 25, 2023. He is survived, and will be deeply missed, by his children Greg and Lisa, sister, Kathryn, and many nieces and nephews.

A visitation will take place at the R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home, 15451 Farmington Road in Livonia, on Tuesday, January 2, 2023, beginning at 3:00 PM, with testimonials and tributes at 7:00 PM. A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, January 3, at St. Edith’s Catholic Church, 15089 Newburgh Road, in Livonia.

Memorial donations may be directed to Gleaners Community Food Bank.