Editorial

Larkin’s lifetime of public service

Posted 9/4/19

For William J. Larkin Jr, who passed away this past weekend at the age of 91, retirement was never really an option. He worked almost to the very end. Last December, just two weeks shy of leaving …

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Editorial

Larkin’s lifetime of public service

Posted

For William J. Larkin Jr, who passed away this past weekend at the age of 91, retirement was never really an option. He worked almost to the very end. Last December, just two weeks shy of leaving office, the senator appeared in Walden to deliver a $300,000 check towards the construction of a new senior citizen/community center. It was part of a legacy that delivered tens of millions of dollars to the communities he represented while serving in the state legislature, first as a member of the Assembly and, for nearly three decades, as a state senator.

That legacy was fostered 75 years ago when a 16-year-old Larkin entered the U.S. Army. He saw action in the Philippines at the end of World War II and later in Korea, earning seven battle stars in the process. He guarded President John F. Kennedy at the Berlin Wall in 1963 and Dr. Martin Luther King on his march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. He retired from the Army in 1967, having attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

The next chapter began with a stint as an Executive Assistant to the New York State Senate and one term as the New Windsor Town Supervisor before heading north to Albany. Over the thousands of miles burned between exits 17 and 23 of the Thruway, and all the miles in between in his district, Larkin would eventually become the last member of America’s greatest generation to serve in the New York State Legislature. That work ethic delivered him to the far corners of his district, where a night off from his travels was a rarity. It’s a job that can be physically challenging for a much younger person, but Bill Larkin never seemed to tire of his role as a public servant. He remembered names and faces and shared his stories with any audience, whether it was a group of veterans or school children.

His list of accomplishments took many years and many miles to accumulate and is far too lengthy to mention here. His compassion extended to his fellow veterans, senior citizens and to all his constituents. It crossed party lines and improved lives in every community that he served.

It is hard, if not impossible to imagine anyone coming close to matching that record of achievement. He personified the West Point motto of Duty, Honor, Country with service to community to a degree this is unlikely to be seen again.