LAWRENCE “LARRY” G. ROOT M.D.
1948-2021
Lawrence “Larry” Gordon Root passed away on July
28, 2021 in Houston after a courageous battle against leukemia. Larry was born the second of three children to Bill and Eileen Root on April 18, 1948 in Kansas City, Missouri. He was preceded in death by his parents, and is survived by his wife, Jackie Campbell, sons Chris and Tim Root, his mother-in-law, Mabel Frohriep, and daughtersin-law Paula and Grace Root, as well as his brother, Tom Root, his sister, Cindy Luter, her husband, Boyd Luter, his beloved granddaughter, Maggie Root, and his niece and nephews.
After spending the first nine years of his life in Kansas City, Larry and his family moved to Dallas, Texas where he graduated from W. T. White High School in 1966. There he ran cross-country and earned the title of “Most Responsible,” which would characterize him for the rest of his life. He would go on to graduate from Southern Methodist University with a BS in Biology in 1970 and earn membership to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Deciding to pursue a career in medicine, he enrolled in and graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1975 and became chief psychiatric resident at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Root was a quintessential “old school” psychiatrist. Always dressed in a suit and tie, he started his daily hospital rounds by 5:00 am in order to see each patient individually before his office hours. Even until the day he was diagnosed with leukemia, he insisted on walking and taking the stairs whenever possible. Larry was on staff at St. Joseph Medical Center for the vast majority of his 46 years of “serving the underserved,” acting as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry from 2010 until 2020 and president of the Houston Gerontological Society for several years in the late 90’s. In 2011, he attained the status of Distinguished Life Fellow in the American Psychiatric Association, the highest
honor that the profession can bestow.
Larry was a proud and loving father to Chris and Tim and adored his wife Jackie throughout their 38-year marriage. When not at the office, Larry would often be found in the stands at St. John’s School, filming his sons’ sports games. He was known as “Rootvision,” creating highlight tapes and capturing memories that players would treasure for decades to come. Larry cherished his nightly “gratitude” walks with Jackie and took great pride in all her talents.
Larry was a lifelong Episcopalian and a member of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. Services will be held at Palmer, 6221 Main Street, on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 10:30 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to MD Anderson Hospital Leukemia Center (gift.mdanderson.org) and The Gift of Life (https:// www.giftoflife.org/contrib) in honor of Lawrence Root.