Classmates, Friends and Family of Lawrence E. Disharoon '78

Larry “Dish” Disharoon was born in Randallstown, MD but in 1956 when Larry was just 3 months old, his dad decided to embark on a new adventure to “build things” in a small, undeveloped beach town known as Ocean City, MD. It was there that Larry would develop a deep love of the ocean, Little League baseball, and a simple existence that would carry him through a lifetime of great adventures.
Learning seemed to come easily to Larry. He first attended the “old” Ocean City Elementary School (grades 1-6) just off the boardwalk in downtown Ocean City and then attended Stephen Decatur High School (grades 7-12) before finding his way to Frostburg State College (now Frostburg State University) from 1974-1978.
It’s fitting that Larry would attend Stephen Decatur as the school was named for a naval war hero. Stephen Decatur, born on the eastern shore of Maryland (Worcester County), was a naval officer during the War of 1812. He also fought against pirates off the Barbary Coast in the Mediterranean Sea. (Larry would later participate in “pirate adventures” with his grandkids who visited the family lake house in South Carolina.) Larry would spend his 40-year career supporting U.S. Navy programs, first as a contractor and later as a civil servant. He retired in 2018 supporting Special Operations Forces (SOF) classified programs.
Larry’s love of country was second only to his love of family and friends. Larry and his wife Maureen raised one son and three daughters, and everyone that knew him understood that a simple life well lived (and well loved) was the best legacy any man could hope to leave behind. His time at Frostburg was where he developed a deep appreciation of lifelong friendships and experiences that shaped him forever more. Those friendships, stronger each year, stayed with him throughout his life as a new generation of families came to understand how special these bonds were, never to be broken.
In a world full of complications, Larry had a knack of breaking things down to their simplest forms. He was never one to over complicate his life. An avid baseball fan since childhood, he was mesmerized by how complex the game of baseball seemed until you understood how to break it down element by element to simple fundamentals. Branch Rickey’s quote, “Baseball is a game of inches” resonated with Larry and he applied that philosophy to his life, fully appreciating that it’s the little things in life that make a difference.
Larry was a dedicated husband, father, and friend to all who knew him. Like the tides of the ocean, he was predictable and constant. There weren’t more than a handful of lunches throughout his entire lifetime that didn’t include peanut butter and jelly—every day. Every. Single. Day. Nothing could beat the simplicity of a PBJ, a good baseball game, a day spent at the ocean, and most importantly, the love of family and friends.