Leeton funeral confirmed for Larry as Riverina communities remember an iconic local

Leeton Funeral director Andrew Luff from Les Watkins & Son has confirmed that a funeral for the late Laurence John Skewes (aka Larry) will be held next Friday 16 August at the Leeton Cemetery at 2 pm.

The graveside service will be open to the public and will also be live-streamed by The Streaming Guys via this link.

Since Larry’s passing at 71 in Wagga last Thursday (1 August), there has been a widespread response from the community with thousands taking to social media to remember the iconic and noisy figure who wandered our streets.

The team at Cobbler Rd on Baylis Street have memorialised Larry with a plaque on the table outside their shop where he would often sit and spruik their wares to passersby.

Hayley Veitch said they had a positive relationship with the pram-pushing icon and wanted to remember and celebrate the positives.

“We saw the kind side of Larry, we never had a problem with him and we always chatted to him so it really touched us all,” she said.

“We were like, it’s not going to be the same because he was such a big part of our days.

“Because he was there at that table every week, I thought we should put something there but it took me a bit to work out what to write.”

The gold plaque features a pair of boxing gloves hanging from a nail by their laces, mirroring the tattoo on his left forearm.

“In Memory Of Lawrence John Skewes AKA “LARRY” AKA “POCKETS,” it reads.

“Some will quickly free their mind of you, but there will be others that will find you impossible to forget …”

Already the plaque has attracted a string of visitors and overnight, someone left an unopened can of VB on the table.

Hayley said Larry would often come into the shop to have his signature motorcycle vest repatched.

“He loved his jacket, and he was forever wanting the patches changed or moved or replaced,” she laughed.

“I think sometimes he’d just take them off so he could come in and have a chat with us and he’d always tell us a joke – crude or not.”

She said they also witnessed his generosity, helping out some of the younger mob on the streets.

“The statue out the front is named Donna and some days he used to spend 20 minutes to an hour dressing her up,” Hayley said.

“Then he’d leave pairs of shoes around the bottom of the statue for other homeless people to come and take.

“So he was always doing random acts of kindness that people just never saw. But we did.”

Another little known side to Larry was his love of cars.

The former member of the Little Bit Country Rodders once enjoyed cruising in his dark blue Model A Tudor Ford hotrod and as well as participating in car shows, he would use it to transport relatives to formal events and for weddings.

In recognition of his history with cars, Wagga’s Proud and Polished Car and Motorcycle Club has organised ‘Lap for Larry’ along Baylis Street this Saturday.

“I knew he liked his old cars,” said club vice president Craig Goldstraw.

“Any time one of us went down the street in the old car, or if you drove past him, he’d give you a shout and a wave.”

Craig’s partner Felicity had been close to Larry for some years and was sad to hear of his passing.

“When we found out Thursday night, my partner broke down into tears and said – I wonder if we could do anything for him?” Craig explained.

“We were just sitting back later that night, and I said, – Why don’t we do a lap for Larry – he was always in the main street so it seemed like a good idea.”

Those wanting to join the convoy can gather at the old Murrumbidgee Mill before heading down Baylis and Fitzmaurice streets from about 4:30 pm.