Laurent "Larrie" Chigbrow

Laurent (Larrie) Edwin Chigbrow, age 64 of Los Alamos, NM, passed away on Sunday, September 22nd, 2019.

Larrie was born on June 19, 1955 in Clay Center, Kansas. He graduated from Charles M. Russell High School, in Great Falls, MT and went on to graduate from Montana State University in Bozeman, MT with a Chemical Engineering Degree. He met his future wife, Barbara Drga, while attending MSU. They started their life together in Idaho where he worked for the Idaho National Laboratory for over 25 years. They then moved to Los Alamos, NM where he worked providing engineering support and facility management. Larrie’s love of adventure and travel led him to take a 3-year assignment in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. His most recent work adventure was in Saudi Arabia.

In addition to working as an engineer, Larrie was a devoted father and husband. He also worked a farm where alfalfa was the preferred crop but rocks were a close second. They also raised pigs, cows and horses - some of which were fast enough to be called racehorses. He enjoyed some more adventurous hobbies such as chariot racing, sky diving, and crash landing an airplane once or twice. His greatest joy was his time spent with family and friends, whether that be talking on the phone or traveling the world. He took great pride in his Daughter Christina and Son Michael and their families.

Larrie is survived by his mother Barbara, brothers Eric and Orv, sister JoAnn, wife Barb, two children: Christina and Michael and four grandchildren: Adrian, Nathan, Kaci and Noam, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Orville “Bill”, his brother Fredrick, and sister Marilyn.

During their 41 years of marriage, Larrie and Barb traveled extensively both for work and adventure. They visited over 20 countries, with some of their more memorable adventures taking place in Taiwan, Japan, and Europe. Larrie spent many vacations with family, going on cruises, deep sea fishing, exploring historical sites, and playing trivia. Larrie enjoyed visiting new places and taking on fresh challenges but always found the time to stay in contact with friends and family.

He was a man that always started the day early with a plan and time table, no matter the occasion. The rest of the day was spent keeping family and friends on time or task with reminders like “have you taken a walk today” or “we are wasting daylight”. He was always willing to provide a helping hand and was willing to do the work himself or show you a better way to get it done.

Celebration of Life will be held in Los Alamos Friday September 27th 4:30-6:00pm at the Los Alamos Golf Course, Cottonwood on the Greens, located at 4244 Diamond Dr. in Los Alamos. In lieu of flowers, the family would request that memorial gifts be given to the American Cancer Society, Cancer Research Institute, or any other cancer research fund.

A service will be held in Great Falls, MT on October 18th starting at 11am at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church: 3809 6th Ave South.