Obituary of Edward Lawrence "Larry" Redmond

Edward Lawrence "Larry" Redmond, of Lodi, passed away on December 7, 2007, at a local hospital. He was born on October 6, 1932, in Montreal (Verdun), Quebec, Canada to John and Mary Rose Redmond. Larry was hired personally by Walter Reuther, President of United Auto Workers, at the early age of twenty-six, as the Director of Organizing for U.A.W., AFL-CIO, a post he held for twenty years. Mr. Redmond came from a family with great musical and artistic talent, and he loved to play the drums and harmonica. In his younger days, he even had a band. He was also a great dancer. Larry always enjoyed working with his hands, whether it was in the garden or in the shop. He liked to travel and visit with neighbors and would make any excuse for a backyard get-together. Larry was also very social-minded and spent his life raising awareness of inequality for farm laborers, and as a Canadian worked on the boycott for the UFW. Most of all, Larry will be remembered as a family man who was quite the comedian and known for his dry Irish humor. Larry loved talking on the phone to his granddaughters about their activities. Mr. Redmond is survived by his wife of thirty-one years, Maria Elena Serna-Redmond of Lodi; children: Margarita (Jeff) Redmond-Moore of Chicago, IL, Allan (Lisa) Redmond of Chicago, IL, Ernie (Karen) Gonzales of Lodi, and Candy (Paul) Gonzales McGee of Sacramento; grandchildren: Ariel Redmond, Talia Redmond, Natalie Gonzales, Anastasia Gonzales, Mariaelena McGee, and Amari McGee; and siblings: Bernard J. Redmond, Robert Redmond both of Ontario, Canada, Sheila White of Nova Scotia, Canada, Irene Germain of Montreal, Canada, Gertrude R. DeMeo of Palm Springs, CA, and Rosemary Calandrillo of Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. He was preceded in death by his parents: John and Mary Rose Redmond. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 11, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. at Lodi Funeral Home, 725 S. Fairmont Ave., in Lodi. A Recitation of the Holy Rosary will take place on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the funeral home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, December 12, at 11 a.m. at St. Anne's Catholic Church, 215 W. Walnut St., in Lodi with committal to immediately follow at Lodi Memorial Cemetery. Donations may be made in Larry's name to The Parkinson's Institute, 675 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085 or Cesar Chavez Community Leadership Award, c/o San Joaquin Delta College, 5151 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95207.