Beloved Fine Homebuilding Contributor, Larry Haun Passes Away(1931-2011)
Beloved Fine Homebuilding contributor, Larry Haun passed away just before noon on Monday, Oct. 24, at the age of 80.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Newtown, CT, October 27, 2011- Beloved Fine Homebuilding contributor, Larry Haun passed away just before noon on Monday, Oct. 24, at the age of 80.
A legendary carpenter, longtime Fine Homebuilding contributor and blogger, and prodigious book author, Larry began his building career on the Nebraska prairie at the tender age of 17—and kept building for the next 63 years. In the past few years, he has been “retired,” which in Larry’s case meant building houses for Habitat for Humanity and wheelchair ramps for people in hospice care; teaching; and generally passing along the wisdom of a compassionate life well lived.
"Larry was always positive and always optimistic. He was the kind of guy who you met once and he was your friend for life. He always stayed in touch, checking in to see how you were doing. I’ll miss Larry. His life is worth celebrating" says Justin Fink, Fine Homebuilding Senior Editor.
Drawing on the knowledge and skills that he developed during the post-war building boom in Southern California, Larry’s first Fine Homebuilding article, “Production-Line Jamb Setting and Door Hanging,” appeared in 1989.
Larry went on to write more than 20 articles about subjects ranging from basic building skills like nailing and cutting to more advanced framing techniques for roofs, stairs, and walls. He also contributed articles about lessons from the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake and job-site safety. For Fine Homebuilding’s 25th-anniversary issue, Larry wrote “One Carpenter’s Life,” a reflection on his career as a builder. In addition to articles, he contributed to “Q&A,” “Tips & Techniques,” “Tools & Materials,” and “Reviews.”
Larry’s first book for Taunton, The Very Efficient Carpenter, was published in 1992. Three videos followed, and then a carpentry primer (Homebuilding Basics: Carpentry) in 1999. Larry’s long relationship with Habitat for Humanity proved the foundation for Larry’s next book, Habitat for Humanity: How to Build a House (published in 2002 and revised in 2008). In all his “how-to” books, Larry was a master at delivering clear, step-by-step information, able to make something as complex as framing a hip roof readily comprehensible to the greenest layperson.
None of us was prepared for Larry’s next foray into the world of books. In January 2010, he calmly announced to his editor that he was working on the first chapter of a new book. As Larry modestly put it, “It’s a bit scary because it is different from most of what I have written. It has been on my mind for some time, so I am giving it a try.” In time, the book would evolve into his most original work, A Carpenter’s Life as Told by Houses, which was published this fall.
A Carpenter’s Life is part memoir, part spiritual journey, part cultural history, part passionate paean to the earth and all who walk on it. With the houses Larry has built and lived in providing the narrative glue, what comes through is our deep connection to the natural world, a yearning for simplicity, a respect for humanity, and an evocative notion of what we mean by “home.”
As Penelope Green of the New York Times writes in her beautiful tribute of the man and his work, published today, “[Haun’s] methods, gleaned during a thrift-driven, Depression-era childhood, and honed through decades of production building, can be summed up as a collection of elegant shortcuts, making him the E. B. White of carpenters.”
“Larry Haun was a great builder, a natural teacher, and above all, an exceptional human being,” says Brian Pontolilo, editor of Fine Homebuilding. “He will be missed but his body of work will live on and will continue to inspire generations to come.”
More information on Larry Haun can be found at www.finehomebuilding.com. His memoir and other books can be purchased at http://www.tauntonstore.com/homebuilding.html
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Media contact: Janél Noblin, 203-304-3893, jnoblin@taunton.com
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