In Memoriam: Larry Pendergrass (1939-2023)
May 20, 2023
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is saddened to announce the passing of Major Larry Pendergrass, U. S. Army, Ret., on Sunday, May 14, 2023. Larry Pendergrass was one of the most significant contributors to the development of junior and competition shooting in the USA in the last three decades. Larry’s countless deeds as a marksmanship instructor, mentor of youth, exacting range officer and wise counselor made the shooting sports better.
Larry was born in Mt. Vernon, Missouri. He went on to build an incredible legacy filled with many remarkable experiences in his personal life, a distinguished military career and as a national and international shooting sports official. He attended Southwest Missouri State College (now Missouri State University), earned a degree in mathematics, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant Artillery in 1961. His career as an Army officer carried him around the world and included a tour in Vietnam (1967-68) as well as posts in Germany, Okinawa, and Korea. He retired from active duty in 1982 after 20 years of service. His military honors included two Bronze Stars, two Meritorious Service Medals, and four Army Commendation Medals.
After retiring from the Army, Larry moved to the Atlanta, Georgia area where he became a JROTC Instructor at nearby Creekside High School. There, he coached the Creekside High School Rifle Teams to five consecutive Georgia State High School Championships and was named Georgia’s High School Rifle Coach of the Year eight times. After retiring as a JROTC Instructor, Larry became the Georgia High School Association’s Rifle Coordinator and State Championship Match Director, a position where he served for a decade. The Georgia high school rifle program is the largest of its kind in the country.
In 1996, Larry was invited to join the staff for the sport of shooting at the Atlanta Olympic Games. In subsequent years, Larry served as a match official and international judge in national and international championships that included several ISSF World Cups. Larry’s competition officiating included service as the Chief Range Officer for the NCAA Rifle Championships from 2011 to 2019 as well as for several national junior championships organized by the CMP.
In 2003, when the CMP answered the call of the nation’s JROTC Commands to develop a new air rifle marksmanship training program, Larry was selected to be a member of the team of marksmanship experts who worked with the CMP to design the JROTC Marksmanship Instructor Course (JMIC) that is now used to train and certify all JROTC rifle marksmanship instructors.
CMP Smallbore Manager Brad Donoho, who frequently worked with Larry, wrote this tribute to him:
Larry will always be the greatest Chief Range Officer (CRO) this sport has ever known. The GOAT. Asking Larry to be the CRO at our competitions was a way of guaranteeing the match would run “by the book” – and I mean, BY THE BOOK! Larry would meticulously read match programs and send them back to us because we made a mistake. He would read the rulebook before each competition and highlight important rules to remember. He even had cheat sheets for other range officers to use on the firing range. Larry would always hold a range officer meeting prior to the day’s competition and simply remind the other ROs of their responsibilities. He taught us never to cite a rule from memory and to always show the competitor the rules and let them see for themselves.
He greeted everyone around him with a smile. The impact Larry made on the CMP is immeasurable. We pride ourselves in running the best competitions in the country and in being good stewards of the shooting sports. We do this because Larry showed us how. He was loved by all who were blessed to know him. He will be dearly missed.
The CMP extends its sincere condolences to Larry’s wife of 62 years, Pat, to the members of his family and to all who knew him as a treasured friend. View Larry’s full obituary at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/atlanta/name/larry-pendergrass-obituary?id=51956597.
Thank you so much for the wonderful tribute to Larry. He loved working with the CMP!