Clarence Larry Combs

Clarence Larry Combs passed away on January 6, 2023, in Easton, MD. Larry was born in Arlington, VA, on November 6, 1946. He was the son and only child of John Cornwell Combs and Ruth Bain. Larry was raised in Sharpsburg, MD, where he attended Sharpsburg Elementary School, where he was a member of the school safety patrol, and Greene Street Junior High School. During his youth, he participated in the Boy Scouts eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. He was the first scout from Sharpsburg to become an Eagle Scout. His love of fishing started early, and he would ride his bike to the Potomac River and the Burnside Bridge in Antietam to fish. Larry played Little League Baseball where he made many lifelong friends. He had an extensive baseball trading card collection. His cousins, Fred and Jane, also only children, became best friends for life. He started hunting at age 12 with the help of his grandfather and uncles, and learned archery from an older friend, Roy Semler. Hunting became a lifelong passion. Larry was also an acolyte at his Episcopal church in Sharpsburg. He graduated from Boonsboro High School in 1964 where he played trumpet in the school band and was a member of the track and field team. In 1966, Larry graduated from Hagerstown Junior College and attended one year at the University of Maryland before joining the Marines. He served from 1967 to 1971 where he attained the rank of Sergeant. Upon his discharge, Larry reenrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he graduated in 1973 with a B.S. degree from the college of Business and Public Administration. He was a member of the American Legion, Jeff Davis Post 18. Larry started his career with the McDonald’s Corporation as an assistant manager, serving also as manager, supervisor, regional operations manager of the DC metropolitan area, and regional operations supervisor of franchises. Upon leaving the Corporation, Larry become operations manager with a franchise owner in Baltimore. While working for McDonald’s, Larry started playing golf where he played in many charity golf tournaments for McDonald’s. In total, he served 37 years working for McDonald’s. After his retirement from McDonald’s, he worked for Heron Point in Chestertown and St Andrew’s School in Middletown, DE. Larry continued to be an avid hunter and fisherman and loved spending time with his beloved dogs. He was also an avid reader, a history buff, and enjoyed working on his family genealogy. Larry loved good food. He became a good cook and enjoyed cooking fish and meat on his Traeger grill. In addition to his parents, Larry was deceased by a half-sister, Darlene Combs Rhoades; his cousin, Fred Vogt; his cousin, Robert Martin; his mother-in-law, Anna Mae Roe; a brother-in-law, Kevin Roe; a sister-in-law, Bonnie Roe Holland; and a niece, Stephanie Roe. He is survived by his wife, Carol Roe Combs, a son by a previous marriage, Daniel Ray Combs of New Bern, NC; one aunt, Anna Combs of Simi Valley CA; brother-in-law, Richard Roe and wife Daryl of Sisters OR; sister-in-law, Clara Roe Aleshire; nephew, Michael Roe (Susan) and nieces, Tiffany Roe Marshall (Lorenzo) all of Chestertown, Jennifer Holland and Alexandra Davis, her husband, Chris and son Will, all of Florida. He is also survived by cousins, Jane Barlap (Rick) and Gretchen True (John) of Hagerstown; Patty Ruggieri (Richard) and Sheryl Dun (son, Will Salvia) both of FL; Diane Snodgrass and Dale Combs, in CA; Bill Dun and wife Brenda, and Amanda Dojlidko (Dan) all of NJ. And cousins Ronald, Lloyd and Ken Martin and Linda Martin Lawson in KY, and Dora Mengel of Woodmere, WA. Services will be held on Thursday, January 12, at 1 p.m. at Fellows, Helfenbein, and Newnam Funeral Home in Chestertown. A visitation will be held one hour prior, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Ronald McDonald House Charities at rmhc.org or the Animal Shelter of Kent County at acskc.org.

Clarence Larry Combs

November 6, 1946 - January 6, 2023