Mr. Larry Daniel Cuffie

Larry Cuffie was born September 25, 1955 in Worth County, Georgia, to Annie Ruth Houser and Johnny Thomas. Larry was raised by his loving Grandparents Mr. Joe Cuffie & Mrs. Ophelia Peacock Cuffie.

Larry graduated Worth County High School in 1973 in Sylvester, Georgia. He also got baptized in 1973 in Columbus, Georgia.

Sometime after graduating, Larry decided to move to New Jersey, where his Mom and five (5) other siblings resided. From the moment he came to town, there was no shortage of love and laughter in the house. He needed his own comedy show. The small-town young man coming to live in an area having access to the bigger cities of NJ, and, of course, the “Big City of New York”, which he loved, provided lots of comic relief. Larry would go on shopping sprees, buying several very flashy clothing pieces that made his whole family break out in tears of laughter when he would come home and model what he bought. Some of the never to be forgotten classic pieces were the “Long Yellow Canary colored coat”, the “Green Sheepskin maxi-coat with one of the largest collars ever seen”, his 3-inch platform shoes and boots, and to top things off, no outfit would be complete without adding the Superfly hats with the wide brims with feathers. We can only imagine that the sales people were very happy to see Larry coming in to shop at their stores; probably saying things like, “oh man, that is you…right on brother…can you dig it, we can dig it!” Then after showcasing all his purchases, sharing why he bought them, Mom and Daddy Robinson would say, “boy…we don’t dress like that here. Take all that stuff back!” After a few short years, in New Jersey, Larry decided the North was not for him and he longed for the sweetness of his Georgia roots. His brothers and sisters hated to see him go but saw him many times during the year when they would visit Georgia!

Upon returning to Georgia, Larry lived in several locations, such as Albany, Macon, Stone Mountain and Atlanta. His work history included supporting The Mayflower moving company; Larry was part of the construction crew for Miller Brewery; he spent many years at Firestone Tire company, and, also worked at P&B Trucking.

Due to Larry’s outgoing personality, he NEVER MET A STRANGER. He had a gift of gab and inquisitiveness to want to know about people. Larry’s positivity was infectious. When he made a friend, it was a friend for life!

Unfortunately, not long after experiencing a life-changing accident, Larry came to reside at Cordele Health & Rehab in Cordele, GA. Even with this new situation that left him with limited movement and primarily confined to a wheelchair, Larry was always talkative and upbeat. All the staff knew when Larry had a visitor, because he would light up the joint as you could hear his loud shouts of laughter and sheer happiness. Larry’s family made regular visits. Depending on the season watching football and basketball games, telling jokes and reminiscing on beautiful memories and mayhem when growing up. There were times his family would take Larry on outside excursions away from the facility. He loved being out and about taking rides and looking at everything. Many of his uncles played dual roles as uncles and brothers due to being raised together. When he needed a brother, they were there and when he needed an uncle, they were there for him. As he loved his family, Larry’s love was also big and wide enough to include others. He received visits from his spiritual family of Christian brothers and sisters with much enthusiasm. Many shared scriptural thoughts, meeting parts, talks, jokes and yesteryear memories. When prayers were offered in his behalf, Larry just loved it all. In fact, many said, they would go to cheer him up, but left with Larry encouraging and cheering them up! That’s just the kind of person he was. He would not allow anything or anyone to get him down. The family was grateful for his resilience and resolution. Over and over, Larry would encourage any to “live your life!

Be assured that the number One force in Larry’s life was serving Jehovah. He loved talking about his God and his outlook on life. He undauntingly looked forward to Paradise in the New World. Even as his physical strength was fading and weakening, he faced the remaining weeks and days of his life by encouraging his Mom and siblings who would call to check on him. Never did he want any to be worried or overly saddened. Larry’s personal message to his sister Debbie was to thank her for coming to Georgia to take care of Mom and doing her best to look after him, and repeatedly stated his love for his brothers and sisters. Again, his reminders were to look ahead and not behind. His last communication with his Mom (Sister Smith) was that he loved her all the days of his life and she was his “Momma” and for her to look for him in the New World. He assured her that when it was his time to be called by Jesus, he would look for her and run to her with his arms wide open!

To cherish memories of Larry are a son, Larry D. Cuffie Jr. (granddaughter) of Birmingham, AL; his Mother, Ann R. Smith of Cordele, GA; his sisters, Altheria (Steve) Fairfax of Linden, NJ; Debra A. Flowers of Cordele, GA; brothers, Kimball Hinton of New York, NY; Carlton (Fay) Robinson of Chester, SC; Great Aunt Lola Norworthy of Houston, TX; Aunt Odessa M. Gibson of Philadelphia, PA, an Aunt/Sister Norma Jean Jefferson of Albany, GA; His Uncle/Brothers, Lucious Henry Cuffie and Kenny Jimmy Cuffie both from Cordele, GA; Luther Clyde (Jackie) Cuffie of Avenel, NJ. Larry also leaves many nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of great friends to cherish his memory.