Lawrence "Larry" Vanness

Lawrence “Larry” Vanness, 87, Green Bay passed away peacefully on Monday, January 2, 2023.  The son of the late Louis and Alice (Tilot) Vanness, he was born on January 17, 1935, on the family farm.  On May 21, 1960, he married Janet Van De Kreeke at Annunciation Church in Green Bay.  She preceded him in death on December 10, 2018.  Together they raised 5 children.  He served his country in the United States Army Reserves.  Throughout his career, he worked at Green Bay Food, Straubel Paper and Fabry Glove & Mitten Company (Saranac).  He was an active member with the Knights of Columbus Council 7498.  He was an usher and served on various committees at Nativity Parish.  Although an accountant by trade, he was a farmer at heart.  His passion was the family farm and he meticulously nourished a huge and productive garden on the property until he sold it. Then, to satisfy that ongoing passion he built a small garden behind his house, which he tended to for the past few years. Larry also loved his drives in the country with stops at the C-Mart, to chat with his many friends and drink his free cup of coffee, paid for by his nephews. He also enjoyed parking cars on his lawn for Packers games which he did for well over 40 years. He made many friends over the years from this game day ritual and many of those friends returned year after year to park “in their designated spot”. The backyard had a well-earned reputation for game day tailgate parties.

He is survived by his 5 children: Susan Dehne, Lori (Mike) Demeny, Kathryn (Steve) Matheys, Dave (Laurie) Vanness and Carole (Mike) Bennett.  He is further survived by 11 grandchildren: Jaci (Lance) Mucha, Abby (Semi Sago) Dehne, Tyler (Megan) Demeny, Jordan (Kalee) Demeny, Melissa (Matt) Delaney, Ben Matheys, Luke (Bella) Matheys, Josh (Sara) Havlik, Leora (Chadd) Kuffel, Tori Gerth and Chael Bennett and 15 great-grandchildren: Lily, Lucy, Sebastian, Gracelyn, Micah, Rorie, Finn, Brynlee, Maya, Jett, Cain, Crew, Griff, Ember, and Kazimierz.

In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by his siblings: Marie (Clarence) Marchant, Joseph Vanness, Anna (Alvin) Kugel, Clarence (Pat) Vanness, Rosemae (Louis) Schlies, Connie (Rosemary) Vanness, his mother and father-in-law Martin and Catherine Van De Kreeke, brother and sister-in- laws Jim (Joyce) Van De Kreeke and Fr. Bill Van De Kreeke.

Visitation will take place on Friday January 6, 2023  at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, 2270 S. Oneida Street from 9:00 am until 11:15 am with the Rev. Matt Simonar officiating with a Catholic mass burial at 11:30 am.   Expressions of sympathy, memories and photos may be shared with Larry’s family on his tribute page at www.lyndahl.com.

The family would like to thank the nursing staff at Meng Residence (Unity Hospice) for all of their care and compassion.

In Lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Unity Hospice in Larry’s name.

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