Willard was 78.
“Larry was committed to making New Mexico a better place to live as much as anybody I ever knew, and was one of the most positively impactful leaders New Mexico has had in recent memory,” said friend Steve Moise, the state’s investment officer. “He worked to improve our educational system and our business climate and wanted every child to have the opportunity to receive a quality education, get a good job and move up the economic ladder.”
As part of that goal, Willard endowed a number of libraries, including the Willard Reading Room at the University of New Mexico Zimmerman Library, and the Gerald and Betty Ford Library at the Bosque School.