By now many of you have heard the news that Larry passed away on Sunday Feb 24, 2008. At this moment I am in the Minneapolis airport en route to Salem, Oregon, the site of tomorrow morning's memorial service for Larry (which, by the way, I am told will be pretty unorthodox--should we be surprised? :)). Progress on the book has been very slow (for many reasons, first & foremost the ongoing medical situation of our youngest daughter (www.toriisamazing.com), and at times I have wondered if I will ever get it done. Then this past Monday February 25, I received a call from Larry's son Mike, and as soon as my wife told me who was on the phone, I knew. It was the call I hoped I would never get, at least not until the book was done so Larry could have enjoyed it. But that opportunity has passed now, which brings us to the present. The book was never supposed to be "about Larry" in terms of glorifying him, so in that sense, I'm sure Larry is not sad or missing anything. With his passing, though, does come a renewed vigor to work at this as diligently as possible and still carry through the original main purpose--to shed some light on Larry's life but even more than that, to redirect people's attention to the God Larry loved his whole life and the God who Larry is enjoying now, face to face. For now, please know your entries continue to be welcome. I am guessing it will still be at least until the summer before this comes together, so the door is open for more stories to be shared. I will also let you know more about the direction the book will take, since I want to speak with Larry's son Mike, as well as Larry's brother Charles & his wife Kristin, about these matters. If you think of it, please pray for Larry's family at this time. I know how much I miss him; I can only imagine how difficult it is for the Norman family. I do hope to have more news to post after this weekend in Salem (I'm scheduled to be in town thru Monday morning), so do check back in soon to see if there are new developments. One last thing: If you are interested in helping support Larry's family at this time by contributing something towards Larry's funeral expenses (as referenced at www.larrynorman.com), please email me & I will let you know how you can follow up on that (this is one of the things I hope to speak with Mike & Charles & Kristin about this weekend). God bless you, td

I first met Larry Narman on August 12th, 2006 at the Salem Armory. We drove from Everett and made it there for the 2nd Set. I was shocked to walk in and see so many musicians on stage together, includung Frank Black, from the Pixies, who I noticed immediately. After the concert, I got to meet all the musicians, something about Larry made it so you could talk to him about anything, like I knew him all my life. The next morning I read an article about Larry in the local paper that was 4 pages long, talking about his discography, world tours and lifetime achievement awards in the world of Gospel Music, I was amazed. Later that day we attend the Benefit Auction @ Charles' Jam house. After enjoying some great food and watching the guitar auction there was a little jam being held. Mark Lemhouse did one of his songs. I had brought my bass with me, just in case. It was Valerie, Larry's cousin and my mother-in-law, whom recommended me to get up and jam. I was up with the drummer of Softcore and one of Larry's good friends playing guitar. We first did a blues progression in F. Next, the guitarist asked if I knew any Beatles, and I said "Twist & Shout". We began the song and out of nowhere comes Larry Norman to the stage, belting out the lyrics. I was impressed to see a weakened man get up and performed to make the crowd pleased, but in turn, that is what he did! Next we did "Come Together", which kind of fell apart at the end, no matter because it was all worth the experience. I remember all of camcorders rollin' during that set, I just hope that someone who reads this article has access to it. The weekend seemed sorrowed but in actually it was the "Celebration of Life" and what can be accomplished by the power of belief in yourself and the people in your life. We stayed and partied until late and the next day, Booie ,Maxx and I said our goodbyes and visit the Salem Children's Museum before returning back to Washington. This artcle was straight from memory, like it was yesterday. The impact of that weekend will last me my whole life. He will be missed!!!
-Sean Keck