Missing the Lair Bear this morning. He taught many more people than his students. I was lucky enough to meet him at the golfers college despite being fellow CAL alumns. I feel lucky to have met Larry and know he made this world better than he found it.
Thanks Nick for writing about Larry. I had no idea how much he accomplished in his life. We were and still am- heartbroken over the news. My daughter is a student at Gateway High where she had Larry as a teacher. He was great- he pushed her as well as other students harder because he didn’t just want them to slide by but because he knew they could do it. She was on the volleyball and basketball team and he was a fixture at the games. He would just pump everyone on the stands up with the Gateway chat and it would liven up the whole gym. It was infectious. He was passionate about the sports as well as the students on the team. You can tell he had great relationships with students in and out of the class. I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to know him on a personal level, but when he sat near us at the games, he was just so easy to talk to on the stands. He will definitely be greatly missed by the Gateway community. Truly he left us far too soon.
As a graduate school friend of Larry's one of my fondest memories of him was the day we protested a specific class for which we both shared a principled disdain by watching the UConn -Stanford WBB game in the back of class and refusing to participate in whole class discussion. As a teacher and a sports fan, I admired passionate commitment to his convictions and core beliefs, the root of which seemed to be that all students deserve quality education delivered by passionate experts and that Stanford loses are almost as Cal wins.
Thank you for writing this Nick. My daughter was his student at Gateway High School. He was her all time favorite teacher ever. She respected him deeply, learned so much from him, and enjoyed learning from him. He inspired her to give her extra best in his class. She often quoted him or shared insights of his. Two things stand out that she quoted him as saying, "If you learn only one thing from me- just one thing- YOU NEED TO VOTE"! and "If you learn only on thing from - just one thing- Its that CAL RULES"!!. This is such a tragic loss for the Gateway High community. I'm not surprised to see a whole other community that treasures him as much as we did.
My son was so fortunate to be his student at Gateway High School. He assigned a lot of work and challenged them, but he got them to rise to the challenge because he was that magic combination of incredibly supportive, uniquely in-tune and enthusiastic about the kids and the subjects. He was my son's favorite teacher and I can assure you, the energy you saw going into his love of Cal athletics was the energy he gave to teaching and mentoring the kids who were blessed to be in his classroom.
Thanks for posting this great tribute. I always looked forward to his posts whenever anything was going on in basketball. A brilliant flame of Cal fandom has been extinguished. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and students, especially losing him in such a traumatic way.
Larry was a teacher of mine the summer of my 9th to 10th grade year. He taught me so much on how to speak to others, and the climate of society in this day and age. I am so heartbroken that we lost such an amazing person. The very last thing he said to me, was how our generation has to save the world, because his generation is destroying it. He was so awesome, fun, happy, but most importantly, so passionate. His passion inspires me to be as motivated and caring as he could be. We promise to remember him, and we will save the world Mr. Berroya. <3
I created an account to react to share this. As a long time lurker of CGB, Reef's posts were what I expect after each Basketball game. His passion and dedication were infectious and I am devastated even though I don't know Larry directly. I am shocked. Condolences and RIP.
I just walked in to my favorite waterhole to find his bar stool sits empty. Stunned, shocked. My heart breaks for the CGB crew, his friends, his students, his family. Thank you Nick for your beautiful piece, shining a light on Larry, the person behind the pen. It brought tears to my eyes.
I didn't know Larry, but I truly admired Reef for all the basketball knowledge he shared, grateful for all I learned. Loved the data driven analytical details ('show me the evidence' in his response to contrarians) and the passion with which he wrote, all of which brought a smile to my face. And that's how I'll remember him. Fiat Lux, basketball dude.
Oh no. No. No. No. Reef was as much a part of my Cal fandom as Nam or Avinash or other stalwarts here. I didn't have to know him to know and respect him. My heart goes to those who were his friends. To his family. A true Golden Bear. A fellow teacher. Rest in deep peace, Reef.
I didn't know Larry as a sports fan but I did know him as a teacher. My daughter is a sophomore at Gateway HS, he was her advisory teacher since 2018, her Humanities teacher and she was his TA, but more importantly he was a friend. He challenged her when she needed to be challenged, championed her when she needed someone in her corner, believed in her when she struggled to believe in herself and never sugar coated anything. He has left his mark on all the students who were lucky enough to have known him. We are mourning his loss tremendously and I look forward to celebrating his life when the Gateway community can gather together and honor him.
I've ever met this person, but I just felt the bottom of my stomach fall out of me. This guy was a rock and I learned so much from reading his posts. I say with no exaggeration that I got excited every time I saw Reef had posted, because it meant it was gonna be good. Comments or posts, they were always quality. My heart goes out to everyone close to him. From the bottom of my heart, you will be missed Larry. Fiat Lux.
Holy moly... this is a punch in the gut to lose someone who has lived the same passion for Cal many of us have for years, even decades. RIP Reef; at least he went out with the Axe back where it belongs.
Missing the Lair Bear this morning. He taught many more people than his students. I was lucky enough to meet him at the golfers college despite being fellow CAL alumns. I feel lucky to have met Larry and know he made this world better than he found it.
A salute, and godspeed to the consummate Cal fan.
Thanks Nick for writing about Larry. I had no idea how much he accomplished in his life. We were and still am- heartbroken over the news. My daughter is a student at Gateway High where she had Larry as a teacher. He was great- he pushed her as well as other students harder because he didn’t just want them to slide by but because he knew they could do it. She was on the volleyball and basketball team and he was a fixture at the games. He would just pump everyone on the stands up with the Gateway chat and it would liven up the whole gym. It was infectious. He was passionate about the sports as well as the students on the team. You can tell he had great relationships with students in and out of the class. I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to know him on a personal level, but when he sat near us at the games, he was just so easy to talk to on the stands. He will definitely be greatly missed by the Gateway community. Truly he left us far too soon.
As a graduate school friend of Larry's one of my fondest memories of him was the day we protested a specific class for which we both shared a principled disdain by watching the UConn -Stanford WBB game in the back of class and refusing to participate in whole class discussion. As a teacher and a sports fan, I admired passionate commitment to his convictions and core beliefs, the root of which seemed to be that all students deserve quality education delivered by passionate experts and that Stanford loses are almost as Cal wins.
Rest In Peace Larry.
There is a memorial web site set up for more general remembrances of Larry. https://www.forevermissed.com/larry-berroya/
Thank you for writing this Nick. My daughter was his student at Gateway High School. He was her all time favorite teacher ever. She respected him deeply, learned so much from him, and enjoyed learning from him. He inspired her to give her extra best in his class. She often quoted him or shared insights of his. Two things stand out that she quoted him as saying, "If you learn only one thing from me- just one thing- YOU NEED TO VOTE"! and "If you learn only on thing from - just one thing- Its that CAL RULES"!!. This is such a tragic loss for the Gateway High community. I'm not surprised to see a whole other community that treasures him as much as we did.
Thanks Amy - I'm very gratified that Larry's school community have found this space to offer their memories as well.
My son was so fortunate to be his student at Gateway High School. He assigned a lot of work and challenged them, but he got them to rise to the challenge because he was that magic combination of incredibly supportive, uniquely in-tune and enthusiastic about the kids and the subjects. He was my son's favorite teacher and I can assure you, the energy you saw going into his love of Cal athletics was the energy he gave to teaching and mentoring the kids who were blessed to be in his classroom.
Thanks for posting this great tribute. I always looked forward to his posts whenever anything was going on in basketball. A brilliant flame of Cal fandom has been extinguished. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and students, especially losing him in such a traumatic way.
RIP Reef. Big loss in the Cal Fan community. Go Bears forever.
Larry was a teacher of mine the summer of my 9th to 10th grade year. He taught me so much on how to speak to others, and the climate of society in this day and age. I am so heartbroken that we lost such an amazing person. The very last thing he said to me, was how our generation has to save the world, because his generation is destroying it. He was so awesome, fun, happy, but most importantly, so passionate. His passion inspires me to be as motivated and caring as he could be. We promise to remember him, and we will save the world Mr. Berroya. <3
I created an account to react to share this. As a long time lurker of CGB, Reef's posts were what I expect after each Basketball game. His passion and dedication were infectious and I am devastated even though I don't know Larry directly. I am shocked. Condolences and RIP.
I just walked in to my favorite waterhole to find his bar stool sits empty. Stunned, shocked. My heart breaks for the CGB crew, his friends, his students, his family. Thank you Nick for your beautiful piece, shining a light on Larry, the person behind the pen. It brought tears to my eyes.
I didn't know Larry, but I truly admired Reef for all the basketball knowledge he shared, grateful for all I learned. Loved the data driven analytical details ('show me the evidence' in his response to contrarians) and the passion with which he wrote, all of which brought a smile to my face. And that's how I'll remember him. Fiat Lux, basketball dude.
Oh no. No. No. No. Reef was as much a part of my Cal fandom as Nam or Avinash or other stalwarts here. I didn't have to know him to know and respect him. My heart goes to those who were his friends. To his family. A true Golden Bear. A fellow teacher. Rest in deep peace, Reef.
I didn't know Larry as a sports fan but I did know him as a teacher. My daughter is a sophomore at Gateway HS, he was her advisory teacher since 2018, her Humanities teacher and she was his TA, but more importantly he was a friend. He challenged her when she needed to be challenged, championed her when she needed someone in her corner, believed in her when she struggled to believe in herself and never sugar coated anything. He has left his mark on all the students who were lucky enough to have known him. We are mourning his loss tremendously and I look forward to celebrating his life when the Gateway community can gather together and honor him.
I've ever met this person, but I just felt the bottom of my stomach fall out of me. This guy was a rock and I learned so much from reading his posts. I say with no exaggeration that I got excited every time I saw Reef had posted, because it meant it was gonna be good. Comments or posts, they were always quality. My heart goes out to everyone close to him. From the bottom of my heart, you will be missed Larry. Fiat Lux.
Holy moly... this is a punch in the gut to lose someone who has lived the same passion for Cal many of us have for years, even decades. RIP Reef; at least he went out with the Axe back where it belongs.