Debbie Morrell smiles when she looks at all the framed photos of herself and her late husband, Larry. Her smile matches those from the pictures.
“Best 12 years of my life,” she said.
Every love story has a beginning. Debbie and Larry’s had two.
“I was 16. He was 23,” she said, pointing to a picture of the two posing during a dance at her sister’s wedding in 1980. “I was maid of honor. He was the best man.”
Four years later, the two began dating. Both grew up in South Florida. Larry was a young police officer in Tulsa, Okla. Debbie was a college track and field athlete. The relationship fizzled out.
“Almost 23 years later, we reconnected,” she said.
Larry proposed to Debbie at her parent’s 50th wedding anniversary party. They got married in 2005. By then, Larry had become an accomplished member of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department. He made it his life’s work to get drunk drivers off the streets.
“He would arrest his own mother,” joked Debbie. “He felt like he made a difference because every person he pulled off the road, most of the time they were impaired, so they were going to be arrested and he just knew that the road was going to be safer. He came home happy all the time.”
Larry was diagnosed with Stage-4 pancreatic cancer in 2016. He opted for very aggressive chemotherapy treatments to try and eliminate his 10 cancerous masses. He only lived eight months.
“God had other plans,” said Debbie, who promised to carry on her husband’s mission to make DUI awareness a priority. “That was my promise. I told him I’ll go to all those MADD events in your honor.”
Deputy Morrell received numerous honors from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He was credited with over 2,400 drunk driving arrests. His home office walls are covered with plaques and awards.
Debbie decided to start a Mothers Against Drunk Driving walking team for the upcoming Walk Like MADD event on March 23. She hopes to raise donation dollars in Larry’s name. Her goal is $5,000.
It’s her way of remembering her husband by supporting his purpose.
“He’ll definitely be with me,” she said. “He’s always with me. He was just loved by many people.”
Registration for the Walk Like MADD event is open. Donations can be made to Debbie’s team here.
This was written on his donation page:
Walk Like MADD Tampa celebrates our 11th event as we walk in honor of MADD Hero and friend, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Morrell. Larry was a DUI enforcement deputy who worked daily in the trenches educating the public, working with establishments that sell alcoholic beverages, and on patrol arresting drunk drivers. Larry was taken from us earlier this year after his courageous battle with cancer came to an end. His impact on our community and MADD resulted in the creation of the Deputy Larry Morrell MADD Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award, and the 2018 Walk Like MADD Tampa is dedicated to honor him. Please join us in 2018 as we walk to end drunk driving, walk to create a nation of no more victims, and walk to remember a legendary lawman who spent his career creating a safer community for us all!
