Obituary for Lawrence Hubert Abts

Lawrence (Larry) Hubert Abts beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, friend, and grandfather died peacefully on January 7^th, 2021 in the comfort of his home in Apache Junction, Arizona.

Larry was born on July 18^th, 1944 to Gertrude A. (Lemmer) Abts and Hubert A. Abts in Winona, Minnesota and raised in a small town across the Mississippi River known as Fountain City, WI. His siblings include Ann married to Ron, Peter, Carolyn married to Jim, and Fr. John J. Abts, ofm.

Larry attended St Mary’s Catholic Grade School. His younger years were often spent on a basketball court, baseball field, or creatively entertaining his siblings and cousins (with a Tom Sawyer type of adventurous spirit). Besides his love for his family and friends close behind became his love of sports.

As a young athlete at Cochrane-Fountain City High School, Larry’s love of basketball was evident. Larry set scoring records in basketball and was named to the 1^st All-Conference team. There are still people in Fountain City who remember him for his basketball talent. He also enjoyed playing golf, which became a life-long passion and family legacy.

Larry received a Bachelor’s degree and two Master’s degrees (Industrial Arts/Teaching and School Counseling) from Winona State University. While practicing becoming a teacher Larry met and married the love of his life, Rosemary B. (Krier) Abts and was married for over 52 years. Larry raised two sons, Chad (married to Sherry) and Blake (married to Melanie). Grandkids to Larry include Robert (married to Ashleigh), Julie, Jessica, Johnathon, Jacob, Norielle, Justin, Jenna, Sawyer, and Colbee. And great grandkids Evee and Arwen.

Larry’s value of education led him to serve as a teacher and counselor in the public school system in Sheboygan, WI for 30 years. His passion enabled him to coach various sports teams which included his own sons. Larry was a jack of all trades. He designed and built two homes for his family with his skilled hands and draftsmanship. Larry later took his entrepreneurial skills to Phoenix, Arizona and started Dent Crafters, Inc. Although he moved far from Wisconsin, he stayed close to his family.  He even had a few nephews follow him to AZ.  He trained his nephew, Todd Wells, to continue and grow the Dent Crafters business.

Upon retirement Larry was able to explore the world including Vietnam, Luxembourg, Spain, Uganda, Mexico, Panama, Bora-Bora and more. He enjoyed traveling across America stopping at and visiting with his many nieces and nephews. And maybe most of all he loved spending time in his home state, and relaxing on his patio in Arizona, listening to music, staying physically active with golf and pickleball, and visiting family and friends. He continued to cheer on the Green Bay Packers unconditionally. He attended almost all of his grandkids events, from games, to concerts, to graduations, he was truly a devoted grandfather. His love of adventure and his imagination, creative personality contributed to his living life fully…with a splash of fun!