William Curtis Larmon, longtime Florida retailer

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, October 29, 2012

LarmonTAMPA, Fla. - William Curtis Larmon, the longtime owner of retailer Larmon Furniture here, died on Oct. 19 in Tampa. He was 83.
     A native and lifelong resident of Tampa, Larmon, who went by Curtis, served in the Navy and in the Naval Reserve. He graduated from Tampa Business College and became sales manager at Holtsinger Motor Co. In 1955 he joined his father, Rubel, in the family furniture business, Friday and Larmons' of Ybor City, which later became Larmon Furniture.
     In 1966, Curtis Larmon purchased the store when his father retired. By 1978, he had expanded the store three times to its current 20,000 square feet. Dating to 1931, it is said to be Tampa's oldest family-owned furniture store.
     Larmon retired in 1992 and sold the store to Jimmy and Elizabeth Larmon Kalamaras and Cheryl Larmon Smith, who are his son-in-law and daughters. In 2007, the third generation of owners added a second location in nearby Town 'n Country.
     Larmon was active in a number of organizations including the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Ybor City Redevelopment Corp. board and the Barrio Latino Commission. He was a past president of the Florida Furniture Dealers Assn. and was a member of the Downtown Rotary Club and the board of the Tampa Merchants Assn.
     He is survived by his wife, his daughters and son-in-law, a brother and sister-in-law and five grandchildren.
     Donations in his memory may be made to the Hyde Park United Methodist Church Sparrow Fund, to LifePath Hospice, 12973 North Telecom Parkway, Suite 100, Temple Terrace, Fla. 33637, or to the Parkinson Research Foundation Center of Excellence at the University of South Florida.