When it comes to volunteering and involvement in various organizations and charities, Dr. Larry Darlage has most people beat. He was on the original American Cancer Society Tarrant County Board for more than seven years and will be serving as honorary chair in the first American Cancer Society Cowboy Christmas event later this month. As a cancer survivor, he is deeply passionate about finding a cure. Dr. Darlage has a fascinating past as an educator and continues to teach as a substitute at Crown of Life Lutheran School in Colleyville. He and his wife of 51 years, Mary, have been happily living in Southlake for 22 years.
I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THAT… I wanted to pursue employment in a chemical industry, but I changed my mind after my postdoctoral experience. I chose education and never regretted it.
I SPENT ALL OF MY TIME DOING RESEARCH… when I was at the University of Florida in a postdoctoral position. It was not as exciting as I had thought. I remembered that when I was a graduate student at Iowa State, I got a lot of satisfaction from teaching and a great deal of positive feedback. So, after I finished my postdoctoral research, I pursued a teaching position and landed one at
Pikeville College where I taught organic chemistry to students interested in going to medical school and dental school.
MY WIFE AND I MET… in college – French Class. We started dating while we were still in college and got married two weeks after graduation. I started graduate school two weeks later after a brief honeymoon in Michigan. We have been married 51 years!
I WAS PRESIDENT OF TARRANT COUNTY COLLEGE NORTHEAST… for 18 years, beginning in 1996. One of my goals at TCC NE was to make the college a real part of the community. I became an active member of local chambers of commerce and other organizations. When these organizations sought out places to have meetings, I offered up the college. I helped start an annual meeting called the Heart of North Texas, which still meets today.
THE BEST PART OF THE JOB… was working with the faculty and students. I still taught a chemistry course every other year.
I AM A… cancer survivor – prostate cancer. It was discovered as a result of my regular annual physical exam. My PSA number started to climb, and my physician recommended that I get a biopsy. The biopsy showed that I had a malignancy. I chose robotic surgery, but my surgeon told me that the cancer had broken through the membrane. I had radiation treatments and am now on medication to keep my PSA low.
I AGREED TO BE THE HONORARY CHAIR… of the upcoming Cowboy Christmas event when event co-chair Teresa Rutherford called me and asked me. We are good friends, and we served on the original American Cancer Society Tarrant County
Board together. As a result, she knew that I am a survivor and that both of my parents died of cancer. I have a real passion about finding a cure for this disease and hope that more progress can be made in my lifetime.
I WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL… American Cancer Society Tarrant County Board for about seven or eight years. I am still active in the Colleyville Chamber of Commerce as past-chair and a co-chair of the Colleyville Leadership Group this year. I am a Rotarian and am past-chair of the Metroport Rotary Club. I helped start up the Colleyville Executive Organization several years ago and still am a member. I am a member of the Northeast Leadership Forum that I have belonged to for over 20 years and, also, am a part of the Tarrant County College Retirees Association.