Former college coach left career for family
Larry Landini played quarterback at Juniata College in central Pennsylvania before rising through the coaching ranks to become the University of Connecticut's offensive coordinator.
Then, in his late 30s, he walked away from his football career to devote more time to his family.
“Larry never regretted the decision for one minute,” said friend Reno DiOrio, 74, of Wheeling, W.Va.
Mr. Landini, 72, an Elizabeth Township native who lived in Monroeville, died Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, in his home during an eight-year battle with cancer.
“We were a football family,” said his son, Pete Landini, 45, of Monroe-ville, who was born in Lewisburg during his father's first season as a Bucknell University coach.
Mr. Landini followed his former coach and coaching mentor, Fred Prender, to Bucknell after coaching for one season at a Lancaster County high school and four seasons at his alma mater, Juniata. He remained at Bucknell for eight seasons, the last two without Prender, who died of a heart attack in 1975.
Mr. Landini hung up his whistle after three seasons at Connecticut. The family returned to Western Pennsylvania, and Mr. Landini became a sales manager at Elizabeth Carbide Die Co. Inc., from which he retired as vice president in 2009.
“At that point, he committed to being at our games and being our dad, not a coach. He never let us down,” Pete Landini said.
Mr. Landini continued to attend Pitt and Gateway football games through this past fall, his son said.
Golf was another passion. DiOrio said they played “hundreds of rounds” together. They first met when Mr. Landini, then in his first year at Bucknell, went on a recruiting trip to the Kiski School, where DiOrio coached. Their families vacationed together over the years at Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.
Once, they went on a deep-sea fishing excursion. Mr. Landini predicted the water would be “as smooth as a lake,” DiOrio said.
“A half-hour into the six-hour trip, he was hanging over the side of the boat as sick as a dog,” DiOrio said, noting he never let his friend live that down.
In addition to his son, Pete, Mr. Landini is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jan; son, Mark (Liz) Landini of Wheeling; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in Monroeville United Methodist Church, 219 Center Road. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Mario Lemieux Foundation, Two Chatham Center, Suite 1661, 12 Washington Place, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219 or www.mariolemieux.org to support the Center for Blood Cancers.
Tom Fontaine is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7847 or tfontaine@tribweb.com.
