Lawrence Albert "Larry" Chenaille

Larry Chenaille, loving husband and father of two, passed away at his hone in Fairbanks on Nov. 14, 2020, at age 82.
Born on Jan. 4, 1938, in Pownal, Vermont, to Albert Lawrence Chenaille and Nancy (Robinson) Chenaille, Larry was raised on a farm near Cambridge, New York, where he attended the Salem Washington Academy and later learned the trade of welding. Larry first came to Alaska in 1964, following the devastating earthquake in Anchorage. He had always wanted to see Alaska, and figuring there would be work available following the earthquake, he bought a slide-in camper for his pickup truck and headed north. Astounded by the vastness and beauty of The Great Land, he decided to learn to fly shortly after his arrival. He spent the next several years commuting between Alaska and New York. On July 20, 1974, he married Jean Anne Kennedy, of Brooklyn, New York. They raised two children, Larry Jr. and Nancy. Jean passed in 2010. In 2015 Larry remarried to Daphne Salado, whom he had met in the Philippines.
Larry was proud of his welding accomplishments, which included work on the trans-Alaska pipeline and its associated pump stations, UAF's Geophysical building, and several Alaska power plants, as well as the original World Trade Center's twin towers, NYC's Verrazano Bridge, and other East Coast bridges and power plants too numerous to list. He was well known for his metallurgical abilities and as "the guy who could weld things that others often could not." He continued to weld throughout his later years, mostly for fun and to remain proficient.
Larry was best known as the owner of Larry's Flying Service, which originated as a charter company and flight school in 1979, became an aircraft dealership, and went on to become one of Alaska's largest commuter airlines, at one point providing scheduled passenger and cargo services to nearly 100 destinations throughout rural Alaska. In the 1980's, as a flight instructor and FAA pilot examiner, Larry, along with his brother Rich, helped many residents of interior Alaska achieve their dreams of becoming pilots and aircraft owners. The two were especially well-known for their abilities with floatplanes, as well as training other pilots to fly them safely. Larry and his company provided a great start to the careers of many young pilots, mechanics, and other aviation professionals throughout the years. In the early 2000's Larry opened a flight school in Bethel to train local-area Alaska Natives to become commuter airline pilots in the Y-K Delta region.
True to his "farm-kid" roots, Larry always enjoyed growing things, and found the unique growing season of interior Alaska to be ideal for growing almost comically large vegetables. He was especially known for his potatoes, both in their size and quantity (often to the chagrin of his family as there were frequently years where garage parking was unavailable at his home due to potato storage, and potatoes were sometimes known to show up in other rooms as well.) Proud of his produce, he frequently sold it at the farmer's market or to grocery stores, gave it to friends, or donated it to various charities around town. Larry was active in the Catholic Church, where he served as a Sacristan and Eucharistic Minister at Sacred Heart Cathedral. He was a long time member of the Knights of Columbus.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Al and Nancy; siblings Doris, Evelyn, and Rich, and his first wife, Jean. he is survived by his sisters, kathleen and Sylvia, which wife Daphne, of Fairbanks; son Larry Jr. of Indianapolis, daughter Nancy of Salem Oregon, and grandchildren Megan and Laura-Jean, Eric, Natalie, Ryan and Brianna, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service and burial are scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, June 4, at Northern Lights Memorial Park off Yankovich Road.