Larry Dean Dramann

Born to Lionel Edmund and Thelma Jean Dramann of Gladstone, MO in May 1952, Larry Dean Dramann lived a rich and blessed 72 years before passing among family at his home in Boulder, CO early on Sunday, October 13, 2024. His absence will be most deeply felt by his wife, Jonda, three children and their spouses: Ashley & Rob Coulter, Sarah Ginn, and Aaron & Devon Dramann, and four grandchildren: Emily, Catherine, Megan, & Leo. He is survived by two sisters, Carol Kidd and Linda Healey, his aunts Bercha Mae Flippin and Sara Campbell, further extended family, his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, and many friends. 

Please join us, either in person or via live-stream, for a Celebration of Life at Reclamation Bible Church in East Boulder, CO on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 11:00 am. The church is located at 7690 Baseline RD, Boulder, CO. Reception to follow. His ashes will be interred in a private family ceremony at a later date. The livestream will be made available on the church’s website (https://reclamation.online/) and on Facebook.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (https://www.LLS.org) or the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Organization (https://www.ColoradoDR.org), of which Larry was a vital relief worker and de facto leader during the fire and thousand year floods of 2013. “He put his whole heart into” helping those hurting in the face of disaster. One of his last ventures into the mountains was to personally see with his own eyes how Jamestown and Left Hand Canyon in Boulder had rebounded after his church and many others banded together to serve local residents in the thick of hardship. 

Larry was a self-described rebel who literally had a crash encounter with the Lord on a Colorado mountainside in 1978. A week later, six-pack and Bible in hand, he began pouring through the Scriptures. The latter was a habit that, once begun, he would never stop. Within the week he surrendered his life to Christ. He never looked back. But his faith was not just professed. It was earnest. His hunger for Scripture was not born out of slavish duty, but from genuine love for his Redeemer and desire to know Him more. The result was a life so transformed and steadfast, it drew people in, and earned respect that was maintained with integrity. Much of his life, essence, ministry, the gift of his presence, the wisdom of his counsel, and his acts of service were a direct result of the “overflow” of his time spent quietly in the Word of God. 

He met his wife Jonda while working as the Vice President of an ad company in Colorado. They married in August of ’79. God paved the way for a trip to Seoul, Korea in ’81; they came back changed. But a semblance of normal American family life with two daughters was settling in until God orchestrated events to unite them in the conviction of a call to missions. In ‘87, taking steps of faith and obedience, they moved their family to Zambia to begin three terms on the mission field in the era of post colonization, civil war and unrest, devastating malaria, Apartheid and post-Apartheid. Their son would be born in Africa, and tests of faith and steps of obedience would see God lifted High as their provider, protector, the One Who Makes a Way, proving this call on their lives until he called them back stateside, when Larry began to pastor East Boulder Baptist Church. Around that time, Larry completed his Master of Divinity at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in ‘98. He earned a Doctorate of Ministry in May, 2013 after completing his doctoral dissertation on “Discovering the Effect of Intercessory Prayer…”

Back stateside, he began to make time for personal interests and hobbies, which he shared with loved ones. He reconnected with his love of the outdoors by backpacking, hunting, horse riding, and fishing. 

“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right,” was not just one of his sayings, but a consistent way of life – a high bar. For Larry, this applied to his work ethic, faith practice, chores, child rearing, and throwing napkins at the dinner table for fun. He was a jokester with a zest for good food, God’s awe-inspiring creation, watching westerns, and just plain life. If you knew him at all, you knew his mischievous grin and the telltale twinkle in his eye, which discerning ears could detect in his voice, sight unseen. And though much of his life was devoted to the weighty business of soul care, he intentionally carved out and guarded quality time for family at home but also time for fun, especially as a father and grandfather. 

As Covid 19 was beginning to lock-down the US, Larry was prayerfully retiring from pastoring, recovering from cancer, and transitioning to coaching. Though his first cancer was in remission, he was later diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. God blessed him with many miraculous interventions that gave us more time with him despite his terminal prognosis. But it was an exhausting fight, and he has finally entered into complete rest with the One who is his rest. 

He was a rare individual whose connections spanned continents and plumbed hearts, allowing him to quietly disarm multidimensional conflicts with his presence and a quiet word… Slow to speak critically of anyone, lovingly protecting his wife… and always fishing for the joy of the catch… the catch of fish, views of God’s creation, of good company, and especially of souls to be brought into close personal relationship with Christ. 

It is impossible to sum up someone who has left such a legacy with something so feeble as words. Still, we welcome you to join us in our efforts. Please share your memories of him and the impact he has had in your life, especially if it helps you adore the Lord more, encourages our faith, or makes us laugh – as that’s what he would have wanted. We ask for your prayers that the Lord will help us to experience his nearness, grant us the comfort of grace upon grace, and a hope that endures through the days, weeks, and seasons to come as we navigate the terrain of our loss.