Lawrence William Faker

Lawrence was born the 7th of 10 children to Frank and Mary Faker on September 28th, 1928, in Wichita, Kansas. After his father Frank’s passing, the family packed up their children and their dog in a Studebaker and moved across the country in 1938 to settle in Tacoma, WA.

During the depression, the entire family was expected to help out, and the family really learned to lean on one another to make it through hard times.

In 1945, Larry lied about his age to enlist early in the Merchant Marines and was deployed to the Pacific Theater in WW2. After serving for 4 years in the Merchant Marines and Navy, Larry returned home to Tacoma, where he met the first love of his life, Rose Marie Stewart. A few short weeks later in 1949, they were married.

Larry performed many jobs after the war, becoming a teamster truck driver for many years, before eventually joining his brothers Frank, Bernie, and Joe down on the Tacoma waterfront as a longshoreman in 1963. Larry became a member of ILWU local 23, retiring in 1995. While working, he served many positions for the union, including being elected to the safety committee, and a s vice president.

Prior to Larry’s mother passing away in 1962, she gathered up her children, and made them promise to stick together as a family after her passing. This was a vow that the children kept and was a large foundation of Larry’s beliefs throughout his life.

After Larry’s wife Rosie passed in 1985, Larry met the second love of his life, Jackie, in 1991. Larry and Jackie were married for 27 years.

Above all, Larry is remembered as a dedicated father, grandfather, great-grandfather, husband, and friend. He was a devout catholic, and a champion for the underdog. He was a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus at St. Nicholas Church in Gig Harbor. For many years, he served as the captain of the vessel for the Gig Harbor blessing of the fleet, something he took great pride in. His family enjoyed many years of camping trips, skiing, fishing, golfing, coaching, and family get togethers.

For the last 20 years, Larry and Jackie enjoyed the snowbird lifestyle, wintering in Arizona, with summers back home in Gig Harbor.

Larry leaves behind his loving wife Jackie, children Jerry, Pat (Ubi), Bill, Greg (Cindy), Brad (Michele), stepdaughter Peggy (Jeff), 14 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

Surrounded by his wife and five sons, Larry went peacefully home to his Lord on August 24th, 2021.

A funeral mass will be held September 15th, at 12:00 pm at the St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Gig Harbor, with a celebration of life immediately following at the Gig Harbor Eagles at 1:30 pm. For those who wish to attend, a rosary will also be held preceding the service at 11:00am.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Special Olympics, a cause which Larry volunteered for many years and had great passion about.

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