Obituary of Lawrence Corbell Pharo

Lawrence Corbell Pharo, Jr. (Larry) of State College passed away Friday, May 13, 2016 at the Mount Nittany Medical Center. He was 91 years old. Larry was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Neva Jane Holliday and Lawrence Corbell Pharo, Sr. and spent his childhood in North Carolina and Virginia. A lifelong lover of music, he began violin lessons at the age of seven. At the age of 14, he was employed at Langley Air fields, near Norfolk, Virginia, to build model airplanes and test new designs. At 16 he entered Auburn University, with a major in electrical engineering, and enrolled in the ROTC program. At 18 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He believed that there was only one lieutenant younger than himself. Larry later transitioned to the Air Force Reserves and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During WWII, he went to Italy with the 15th Air Corps, supervising a motor pool of African-American troops, who supported the Tuskegee Airmen. He learned to play jazz trumpet from some of these soldiers and joined a dance band (the Auburn Plainsmen) after the war. He met Micki Street upon his return to Auburn and married her in 1948. The couple moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where Larry worked in the Naval ship yards, and later to State College (1955), where he earned a Master's Degree at Penn State and worked for 36 years as an Associate Professor in the field of underwater acoustics at the Applied Research Laboratory. Larry played in the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra for 5 years and was a founding member of the Nittany Valley Symphony Orchestra and the State College Municipal Band. He also played with the Altoona Symphony, the Lock Haven University Orchestra, and the Senior Citizens' Dance Band. He sang tenor with the State College Opera Society and in the St. Paul's Methodist Choir. His later years were typified by an unfailing optimism and joy in the appreciation of nature and contact with family. His time spent in Italy remained influential as he frequently sang his favorite closing phrases: Arrivederci! Buona sera! Larry is survived by his wife, Myron Street Pharo (Micki); their three children: Carol Pharo, Lawrence Corbell Pharo III and wife Ellen, Donna Pharo Dykes and husband Mark; four grand-children: Karen Pharo-Deihm, Justin Lawrence Pharo, Molly Myron McNulty, and Daniel John McNulty; and three great-grandsons: Ronan, Jude, and Makai Pharo. Larry's sister, Barbara Pharo Parker, resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Visitation will be held from 6 until 8 p.m., on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton Street, State College. An additional visitation will be held from 9:30 until 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 250 E. College Avenue, State College, with a prelude by Carol Pharo to follow at 10:30 am. The funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m. with the Reverend Eric Shafer officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be given to The Nittany Valley Symphony (P.O. Box 1375, State College, PA 16804/www.nvs.org) or to St. Paul's United Methodist Church (250 East College Ave., State College, PA 16801/www.stpaulsc.org). Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com