Baylor Mourns Passing Of Retired Music Professor

Read a Tribute to Dr. Larry Vanlandingham by Dr. Will V. May, dean of the Baylor University School of Music.

Dr. Larry D. Vanlandingham, professor emeritus of percussion instruments at Baylor University's School of Music, passed away Sept. 11 after a long illness. He was 67.
Graveside funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, at Oakwood Cemetery with Ed Wittner officiating. Visitation with the family will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, 6101 Bosque Blvd.
Vanlandingham was born Aug. 18, 1937, in Mexico, Mo. He later moved to Phoenix, Ariz., where he began his life-long live of percussion and received his bachelor's degree in music from Arizona State University. Vanlandingham earned his master's degree from Baylor, while serving as assistant marching band director under Donald I. Moore. While at Baylor, he met Mary Zandi, his wife of 41 years. They moved to Florida, where Vanlandingham earned his doctorate from Florida State University. When they returned to Waco and Baylor, Vanlandingham's talent and career flourished as a percussion professor for 41 years and consequently the head of the instrumental division of the School of Music.
Vanlandingham was one of the charter members of the Waco Symphony Orchestra, president of the International Percussive Arts Society, and in 1992 was named one of three outstanding professors at Baylor. He was a member of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church.
Vanlandingham is survived by his wife, Mary; son, Derek Vanlandingham of Dallas; daughter, Lara Tysinger and husband, Alan; grandchildren, Elizabeth and Dylan, all of San Antonio; sister, Wanda Owens, and husband, Charles of Phoenix, Ariz.; several nieces and nephews; and many friends who will remember and deeply miss his nurturing touch, his keen sense of humor and his loving and generous spirit.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Percussive Arts Society, 701 NW Ferris Ave., Lawton, OK 73507-5442, and to the Congestive Heart Failure Clinic at Providence Health Center of Waco. A "Memorial Guestbook" is available online at Wilkirson Hatch Bailey.