Larry Leroy Bingham

Larry L. Bingham, a long-time resident of Monte Sano, passed away in Huntsville, Alabama, on February 5, 2020—six days before his 77th birthday.

Professionally, he worked at BF Goodrich in Calvert City, Kentucky, and at DuPont in Syracuse, NY, before moving to Huntsville in 1973. In Huntsville he worked at Teledyne Brown Engineering. During his thirty-one-year tenure at TBE he earned the title of Master Scientist.

In 1988, he married Rusty Bynum and became an integral part of her entire family.

He was a true Renaissance man—a passionate student of varied talents and interests. Mr. Bingham was a bicycle enthusiast who rode, repaired and built bicycles. His enthusiasm was contagious. Over the years he was joined in century rides by two generations of family members.

He was an award-winning photographer, specializing in black and white photography which he developed in his specially designed darkroom.

Following his retirement, this lifelong patron of the arts turned to the study and practice of calligraphy. He expanded his studies to include drawing in pencil and in ‘pen and ink.’

Regardless of all his professional achievements, Larry Bingham’s greatest pride and joy was his family. He gloried in their love, steadfastness and rollicking good humor, and they in his. They shared memories of life with Larry Bingham, aka “Pop.”

Grandsons

                For our family vacations to the beach, he designed and made a special bike rack that held all nine of our bicycles in his van. When I was just five years old and too young to join long family rides, Pop rode with me back and forth in front of the house where we were staying, so I could go bike riding at the beach, too.

                He got excited about the photography done by every member of the family.

                One of my high school science assignments was about space expanding into nothingness. My dad and I knew exactly who to call. We were right: Pop explained it perfectly.

                I had a science experiment that included a slide showing the double helix. Pop put the slide under my microscope, managed to fit his camera lens into the eyepiece of the microscope and took a picture of the double helix on the slide. When he got home he emailed me that picture so I’d have it for my science project.

                Pop always took an interest in whatever I was doing. He always wanted to make a connection with me.

                The last visit I had with Pop was really nice. When I came to the house at Christmas, he’d gotten out cameras and lenses and photography he’d done through the years, to share with me. His scientific mind had such great creativity.

Children

                He shared a flyer about a photography show from 1977. He was one of the featured photographers.

                When Mom and Pop started dating, he paid me to teach them tennis. I was just a teenager, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. But what was actually cool about it was that he was really serious about learning, and he took me seriously. It was great.

                He always went out of his way to complement me on what a good job we were doing raising our two boys.

                Pop was the best example to me of a man who was willing to be human. He didn’t make pretenses to be anything other than who he was. He embraced the whole breadth of experience and allowed it to move him.

                There’s not a whole lot that he took for granted.

                When I took a teaching job in Lowndes County, he bought pencils, paper, crayons and  other needed supplies for the children. His donations were enthusiastically received. It was a joy to watch him revel in giving to others. Being able to give to those in need filled him with such joy.

All

                He was a great dad.

                Yep.

                He sure was.

                You got that right.

Larry L. Bingham’s last gift of calligraphy, given just weeks before his passing, was an Irish quote:

                May the roof overhead be well thatched

                And those inside be well matched.          

               Larry Bingham is survived by his wife Rusty Bynum; daughter and son-in-law, Holly and Delos O’Neal; son and daughter-in-law, Royce and Staci Ballard; daughter Amy McLaughlin; and grandsons Kyle and Reid Ballard.

Due to concerns about the Corona Virus and out of concern for our friends the celebration of life planned for March 14 has been cancelled.

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