One of the class’s adventuresome and dedicated refugees, Larry died May 2, 2022, at his home in Cambridge, Mass., of lymphoma and donated his body to the UMass Medical School.
He came to us from Pittsburgh, but after a year found Princeton too constraining for his activist interests, and transferred to Michigan, where he joined the SDS and was involved in protesting the huge issues of the day. After a psychology degree, Larry moved to Somerville, Mass., where he lived in a commune and was involved in multiple local causes, including labor protests, anti-weapons proliferation efforts, and, for an extended period, programming the first generation of wind farm controllers with his formidable math skills. He then got a master’s degree at the Harvard Kennedy School (where he played in the rock group Supply and Deband) and turned to international development; he managed projects at the Harvard School of Public Health for a decade. His interest in causes in Central America, the Middle East, and the field of climate change continued unabated to the end of his life.
Larry is survived by his wife of 43 years, Judy Somberg (from the Somerville commune!); their children Lucia and Ben Somberg; his sister Ilene Price; and their families. He treasured them all with his characteristic joy and enthusiasm, the hallmarks of the Larry we remember from the day he stepped on campus. It is a comfort to know they served him, his family, and his many causes so well.