Lawrence Landau

Lawrence Landau, age 92, of Oak Ridge, died in an auto accident, Thursday June 2, 2016. He was born in 1923 in New York City. Larry was a loving and kind father and husband, active in many local organizations, including the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Institute of Continued Learning, League of Women Voters, Habitat for Humanity, Oak Ridge Playhouse, Recording for the Blind, Boy Scouts of America, Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, as well as being an avid reader, hiker, bird watcher, and woodworker.

​He is survived and will be dearly missed by his wife of 59 years, Barbara Soderberg Landau, children Debbie Ellis (husband Lee Ellis), David Landau (wife Nancy Minturn), Ben Landau (wife Mary Job Landau), and Betsy Pershing (husband Mike Pershing) and grandchildren Drew Pershing, Brian Pershing, Sam Pershing, Henry Landau, and Maggie Landau.

​Larry graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City in 1942 and joined the army where he served in the signal corps in India and China until 1946. He graduated from City College of New York with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and attended graduate school at Duke University before coming to Oak Ridge in 1953. He worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a chemist until his retirement in 1989.

​In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to The Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, 101 W. Madison Ln. Oak Ridge, TN 37830, the UT Arboretum Society, P.O. Box 5382 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-5381, the Oak Ridge Playhouse, P.O. Box 5705, Oak Ridge, TN 37830-5705, or to the charity of your choice