OTTAWA — Air executive Larry Larkin, business franchise owner Carolyn Sue Thompson Stees, and the late Larry Wright, who was a former county attorney; will be inducted to the Ottawa High School Wall of Honor this year. Larkin, Class of 1952, served 21 years in the Marine Corps as an aviation officer and helicopter pilot. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for action in the Republic of Vietnam, 1968. After he retired, he managed Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, where he was named Arizona’s Airport Executive of the Year, 1992-93. Under his leadership, Flagstaff Pulliam Airport was named Arizona’s Airport of the Year, 1996. He is active as a volunteer and operations leader for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was selected as the State of Arizona’s Search and Rescue Volunteer of the Year, 2014. He is married to the former Margaret Pahlman, OHS Class of 1955. Stees, Class of 1959, and her husband Tom, his sister and her husband became the first franchisees for St. Louis-Panera bread. Their franchise includes bakery cafes in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Arizona. After diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer in the early l980’s, Stees’s passion has centered on breast cancer awareness and treatment. The Panera Pink Ribbon Bagel project which she started in 2001 has a national scope each October. Sue has received the Susan G. Komen “You Make a Difference” Award. Wright, Class of 1959, served in the Central Intelligence Agency’s clandestine service and served in covert operations around the world for 25 years. Due to the classified nature of his job, little is known of his missions. In 2008, Wright was posthumously awarded the Donovan Award for the United States of America National Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency, the highest honor for a member of the clandestine service. He spoke seven languages and held pilot, scuba, and amateur radio licenses, and parachuted and rapelled from planes and helicopters. He was elected Franklin County attorney for two terms from 1992 to 2000. They will be honored at the banquet on Sept. 17 in the OHS Cyclone Room. Tickets are $15. Tickets may be bought from the high school office through Sept. 10.
Thursday, Aug. 20, 10 a.m.
