Even at 90, Larry Stanley could still make a clarinet sing. Surrounded by family and friends at his birthday celebration, he filled the room with music he had learned as a young boy — a gift that once helped support his young family and later became his way of giving joy to others.

That same grace and generosity carried him through nearly a century of life and was a foundational characteristic that helped him thrive in his business and civic endeavors.

Larry, a lifelong philanthropist and businessman, died on Aug. 7 at the age of 97. Although he was a gifted musician, he was better known in the business community as the founder of Spokane-based Empire Bolt & Screw Inc. 

The Journal honored his legacy in the inaugural class of the Spokane Journal of Business Icons in 2019.

Those who knew Larry emphasize that it was his character and personality, shaped by a sense of integrity, kindness, generosity, and industriousness, that propelled his career forward. His son, Ron Stanley, president and CEO of Empire Bolt, says his father's integrity is what defined him. He was respected for his honesty in business and in the community.

“I don’t know of any time he either lied or painted the wrong picture for personal gain,” Ron says. “He was just a man of his word, and you could trust what he said, and I think within the business community, a lot of people recognize that in him.”

Paul Redmond, former president, CEO, and chairman of Washington Water Power, now Avista Corp., echoes Ron’s remarks. Larry was voted to serve on the Avista board not only because he was a successful businessman, but he was also active in the community and known for his integrity, Redmond says.

Amid a leadership transition at Avista, Larry was unanimously voted by the board to step in as chairman. The decision reflected how the board felt about Larry, Redmond says. They respected him, he got along with everybody, and they felt he could bring stability while a new CEO was getting up on his feet, he says. When he approached Larry with an idea or issue, Larry would often reply, “I was wondering about that,” Redmond says, a phrase that emphasized his attentive and engaged nature.

“As far as I know, he was the first layperson to ever become chair (at Avista),” says Redmond, adding that it’s a role traditionally filled by members of management. “And not only was he a successful businessman, but a heck of a musician too.”

Ed Clark, an advertising professional who started his own public relations, advertising, and marketing company, The Clark Co., also remembers Larry as an excellent musician who was kind and passionate about serving the community.

“You’d be at an event somewhere and there’s Larry playing in the band,” he recalls with a laugh, adding how Larry would play in a band every Friday night for Day Out for the Blind, a Spokane nonprofit.

For Clark, Larry — who was almost 20 years his senior — was a mentor and an inspiration. He first met Larry when he joined a committee of citizens pushing for fiscally responsible government in 1981. Larry had started the committee and was leading the charge against the city of Spokane’s B&O tax. Clark says he gained a friend and mentor during that time.

They also served together on Rotary Club of Spokane #21, a local club of Rotary International dedicated to community and international service through projects and fellowships of business, professionals, and community leaders. Larry had a pristine attendance record at the Rotary Club, Clark says.

“He was a 40-year member of Rotary,” he recalls. “He and I would have lunch on Thursdays at Rotary, and then we were in another organization together and had a dinner meeting on Thursdays. So we got together for lunch and dinner for years. I can’t say enough about him; he was always ready to help the community.”

That sense of serving the community and paying it forward was ingrained in him at an early age, says Ron.

Larry was born in 1928 in Oakesdale, Washington, about 40 miles south of downtown Spokane. His father was a barber, and the family lived “haircut to haircut,” Ron says. When Larry was 15, his father became ill and died. The medical bill left from a month of hospitalization was devastating for his mother, but what happened next would have a ripple effect for the rest of Larry's life.

The small town of Oakesdale organized a dance in which all the proceeds from the ticket sales were given to Larry’s mom to pay for his father’s hospital bill. Even residents who couldn’t attend purchased tickets, just to be supportive, Ron says.

“He gave back his time, his talent, and his purse,” Ron says. “I think that started early on when he was in Oakesdale and his dad had died. … He never forgot the fact that that (dance) helped to get them through a knot upon his father’s death. He benefited from others' generosity and wanted to do the same.”

A year later, Larry’s mom decided to move the family to Spokane for better opportunities. Larry attended Rogers High School, where he met his future bride, Beverley Kivett. They were married after high school and had three children together: Cynthia, Ron, and Jon. After graduating from high school, Larry enlisted in the Air National Guard, where he played his clarinet in the 560^th Air Force Band.

Ron remembers his dad as industrious and diligent. Larry’s path to business ownership began in modest ways, he says. As a young father working in the hardware trade, he would bring home boxes for his children to fold, paying them a penny a piece so he could repackage bulk bolts and screws into hand-sized kits. At night, he would earn extra income by playing his clarinet in local jazz bands.

By the early 1970s, Larry had spotted a gap in the Inland Northwest market: No one was focused exclusively on fasteners.

In 1972, Larry launched Empire Bolt & Screw by renting just 50 square feet from an appliance store on Mission Avenue, just east of Division Street.

“To get started, Dad knew that he needed some kind of storefront,” Ron says. “And he could do it in sections from that company because that appliance company was not thriving at the time, and they had excess space.”

Empire Bolt & Screw's first delivery vehicle was the family’s station wagon, driven by Ron, who was 16 and had just received his driver’s license. Ron says what he remembers most clearly about this period was his father’s diligence. At night after dinner, he no longer would go out to play in jazz bands, but instead would sit down next to his three children, who were usually doing their homework, and go through the invoices for the day to see the details of what had transpired.

“It was definitely a part of his makeup,” Ron says. “To have his nose to the grindstone. He was doing his homework with regard to the business; he was very diligent about that.”

Customers valued not only the product but the promise that came with it — Larry’s word. His integrity and overall kindness earned him a reputation and several job offers from other companies that wanted him on their staff, Ron says.

That blend of hard work, integrity, and entrepreneurial eye with a sense of opportunity laid the foundation for a business that grew steadily for decades without debt, Ron says.

Larry went on to become a recognized leader in the industrial hardware industry. He was elected as the charter president of the Western Association of Fastener Distributors from 1982 to 1983 and served on the National Distributor Association board from 1981 to 1984. He was inducted into the National Industrial Fastener Show Hall of Fame in 1991.

Despite his reputation as a disciplined businessman and community leader, Larry was also known for being fun-loving. Friends and family recall his playful sense of humor, and even in his final days at Touchmark on South Hill, caregivers remarked on his constant smile.

“He was always smiling,” Ron says, noting that staff often commented on his cheerful presence.

Even as his company grew, Larry poured his energy into civic life. He served on additional boards, including the Spokane Symphony, the Boy Scouts of America, Momentum '87, and the Governor’s Business Improvement Council. He also lent his expertise to national groups, including the U.S. Senate Small Business Advisory Committee.

That civic instinct extended well beyond Spokane. In Priest Lake, Idaho, where the Stanley family had a cabin, Larry eventually became president of the Priest Lake Association. The through line of his life, friends and family say, was simple: Wherever he went, he found a way to contribute. 

“It’s like no matter where he was, someone would say, 'Hey, Larry, would you share this, join this?'" Ron says. “He was very much a person who would listen to other people and then find the path that worked for everybody. That was his style, the way he handled himself was why people liked having him be their leader of this or that.”