Larry Selman Obituary (1938 – 2021) – Santa Cruz, CA
Larry Selman
December 11, 1938 – September 20, 2021
“Make Every Day Count”
Our beloved husband, father, brother, co-worker and best friend, passed away peacefully at his home in Santa Cruz, California, surrounded by his family. For many months Larry clung insatiably to life, because he simply loved living, on every level. Recently he was busy with many projects – adding more solar power to the house, taking wonderful photographs, practicing the viola da gamba, studying music theory, redesigning the front yard with beautiful succulents and playing Pokémon with grandchildren and other Game aficionados.
For the past few months, this has been his daily mantra: “Make every day count. And we did. Her three-year journey with pancreatic cancer changed everything. We made every moment count. During his last days, he would tell everyone, “There are only two things that matter: having a job you love and finding the right partner.” He said how lucky he was to have found both.
Larry is survived by Marti Selman, his devoted wife of 32 years; son Matthew David (Matisse) Selman, daughter-in-law Daniela Selman, grandsons Mason Lawrence Selman and Dashiell Jean Selman; son Noah Jordan Selman, daughter-in-law Sarah Selman, grandchildren Isaiah Clive Overson, Jacqueline Ruby Overson and Khiaan J. Selman; his sister Kay Ellen (Kelly) Selman, his brother-in-law Robin Wallace, of Gainesville, Florida; first wife Linda Pope of Aptos; and a host of extended family and friends who will forever carry him in their hearts.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio to Evelyn and Morton Selman, Larry attended public schools in Cleveland Heights and earned a bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College, after which he spent a year abroad studying chemistry at University College London. He went on to earn an M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Yale University. After a brief teaching career, Larry discovered by chance what would become of his career for the next four decades. A friend from the world of early music introduces him to one of his collections: glass paperweights. Larry was immediately captivated by these small art objects and began buying and selling them as a hobby, which over time turned into a career.
Paperweight collectors around the world will remember Larry for his work in this area. In 1969 he founded LH Selman, Ltd. which started as a kitchen mail order business with his first wife, Linda Pope, who co-wrote his first book, Paperweights for Collectors. LH Selman, Ltd. has become the world’s leading supplier of antique and contemporary glass paperweights. For years, Larry regularly visited auctions to bid for clients or buy rarities for his collectors. He has written many definitive books on this art form and has published many other titles under his publishing house, Paperweight Press.
Throughout his career as an art dealer, Larry relied on his lifelong skills as a photographer, finding the best ways to photograph glass. (He had created a dark room in his childhood home in Cleveland when he was fifteen). The exceptional quality of its photos sets the standard in the world of clipboards. Always an innovator, Larry was the first paperweight merchant to have a website. This was in the early days of the Internet, when building a website required months of painstaking and ruthless attention to detail. Larry actually wrote the computer code himself, late at night on his home computer. He was the first paperweight dealer to set up an online auction.
Eventually, the mail order/auction business grew into a beautiful glass gallery in downtown Santa Cruz. The shop became a mecca for paperweight collectors from around the world who came to attend the many festivals and other paperweight-related events held there. He fostered a collaborative work environment where his small staff could actively participate and enjoy their work as much as he did.
In 2009, Larry decided that after 40 years, it was time to “pass the torch” of the company to someone else.
LH Selman, Ltd. was purchased by the Clark family, who moved the business to the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where it resides and continues to thrive.
Larry was a devoted father who adored his family. In 1976, a son Matthew (Matisse) was born, followed by a son Noah in 1978. Throughout his career as a businessman, he always found time to be 100% present for his children. , building electronic projects at the dining room table, selling at the local flea market, having sushi-making dinners at home, and lifelong daily conversations about their many diverse interests and pursuits.
After moving to Santa Cruz in the early 1970s, Larry continued to play Renaissance and medieval music with friends. He played with the Antiquarian Funks, the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival and with a small band called The Byrd Consort. In 1986, while serving on the board of directors of the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Larry met Marti Edwards, who shared his passion for early music and his interest in personal computers. They married in 1989 and Marti soon joined him in the business, where she worked as an active partner for the next twenty years.
One of Larry’s areas of interest has always been communications. He found it exciting to be able to send out a catalog from Santa Cruz, California, and have people all over the world respond to it. Seeing the automated equipment he had acquired for mailing clipboard catalogs sit idle between mailings, he founded Complete Mailing Service, another entity to help other businesses communicate with their customers. This business is still thriving in Santa Cruz under its new owner and new name: Complete Mailing and Printing.
That same passion for communication led him into the world of amateur radio and later into his lifelong captivation with the Internet. In 1988, Larry learned Morse code and became an amateur radio operator, under the call sign AA6MV. He and Marti (N6ULI) took trips to several remote islands on “DX Expeditions” where they enjoyed talking by shortwave radio to other “hams” around the world. They discovered that they also shared many other interests: organic gardening, beekeeping, winemaking, fiber arts (weaving, knitting, spinning, dyeing fibers with natural pigments), bird watching , travel, photography and meeting new friends in every new field. they continued.
In the early 2000s, a relative introduced him to the world of ornithology. As a result, Larry became totally immersed in the world of bird photography, taking workshops with well-known American bird photographers and traveling with Marti to many locations across the United States to photograph birds in their natural setting. He spent many hours photographing hummingbirds at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, where the family placed a bench in his memory in the newly planted succulent garden in the South Africa section.
Larry has developed a keen “eye” to see and capture, not only birds, but also people, plants and abstract patterns. Eventually, Larry took up black and white street photography and spent many hours walking the streets of Santa Cruz, Bisbee, Chicago and Santa Fe, capturing anything that caught his well-developed eye. His work has been sold to galleries in California, Arizona and New Mexico.
In 2015 Larry returned to his old passion for early music. Before the pandemic, he and Marti attended all the local chamber music concerts they could. They also traveled out of state for chamber music performances and participated in numerous viola da gamba workshops in California and Arizona. Larry has often remarked that there is nothing more satisfying than playing music with friends.
Larry’s ability to single-mindedly focus on one of his many interests will be remembered and appreciated by all who knew him. A true Renaissance man, once he became passionate about a subject, he focused on learning everything he could. Other interests took a back seat as he deepened his knowledge of a new subject. Her latest project followed the same pattern: the decision to redesign the front yard with draft-resistant plants resulted in a new pile of books to devour about succulents.
We will always cherish Larry’s keen curiosity about just about anything he encountered, his brilliant analytical skills, his many passionate interests, his generosity, his zest for life and his quiet sense of humor, which accompanied until the end. But beyond all these gifts, his kindness and his concern for others stand out from all those who knew him.
We won’t be having any services at this time, but we’re asking anyone who wants to celebrate Larry to come out and do something special in his honor. Help us celebrate our Renaissance man by doing something you love and are passionate about and making every day count.
david mcdonald
December 11, 1938 – September 20, 2021
“Make Every Day Count”
Our beloved husband, father, brother, co-worker and best friend, passed away peacefully at his home in Santa Cruz, California, surrounded by his family. For many months Larry clung insatiably to life, because he simply loved living, on every level. Recently he was busy with many projects – adding more solar power to the house, taking wonderful photographs, practicing the viola da gamba, studying music theory, redesigning the front yard with beautiful succulents and playing Pokémon with grandchildren and other Game aficionados.
For the past few months, this has been his daily mantra: “Make every day count. And we did. Her three-year journey with pancreatic cancer changed everything. We made every moment count. During his last days, he would tell everyone, “There are only two things that matter: having a job you love and finding the right partner.” He said how lucky he was to have found both.
Larry is survived by Marti Selman, his devoted wife of 32 years; son Matthew David (Matisse) Selman, daughter-in-law Daniela Selman, grandsons Mason Lawrence Selman and Dashiell Jean Selman; son Noah Jordan Selman, daughter-in-law Sarah Selman, grandchildren Isaiah Clive Overson, Jacqueline Ruby Overson and Khiaan J. Selman; his sister Kay Ellen (Kelly) Selman, his brother-in-law Robin Wallace, of Gainesville, Florida; first wife Linda Pope of Aptos; and a host of extended family and friends who will forever carry him in their hearts.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio to Evelyn and Morton Selman, Larry attended public schools in Cleveland Heights and earned a bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College, after which he spent a year abroad studying chemistry at University College London. He went on to earn an M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Yale University. After a brief teaching career, Larry discovered by chance what would become of his career for the next four decades. A friend from the world of early music introduces him to one of his collections: glass paperweights. Larry was immediately captivated by these small art objects and began buying and selling them as a hobby, which over time turned into a career.
Paperweight collectors around the world will remember Larry for his work in this area. In 1969 he founded LH Selman, Ltd. which started as a kitchen mail order business with his first wife, Linda Pope, who co-wrote his first book, Paperweights for Collectors. LH Selman, Ltd. has become the world’s leading supplier of antique and contemporary glass paperweights. For years, Larry regularly visited auctions to bid for clients or buy rarities for his collectors. He has written many definitive books on this art form and has published many other titles under his publishing house, Paperweight Press.
Throughout his career as an art dealer, Larry relied on his lifelong skills as a photographer, finding the best ways to photograph glass. (He had created a dark room in his childhood home in Cleveland when he was fifteen). The exceptional quality of its photos sets the standard in the world of clipboards. Always an innovator, Larry was the first paperweight merchant to have a website. This was in the early days of the Internet, when building a website required months of painstaking and ruthless attention to detail. Larry actually wrote the computer code himself, late at night on his home computer. He was the first paperweight dealer to set up an online auction.
Eventually, the mail order/auction business grew into a beautiful glass gallery in downtown Santa Cruz. The shop became a mecca for paperweight collectors from around the world who came to attend the many festivals and other paperweight-related events held there. He fostered a collaborative work environment where his small staff could actively participate and enjoy their work as much as he did.
In 2009, Larry decided that after 40 years, it was time to “pass the torch” of the company to someone else.
LH Selman, Ltd. was purchased by the Clark family, who moved the business to the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where it resides and continues to thrive.
Larry was a devoted father who adored his family. In 1976, a son Matthew (Matisse) was born, followed by a son Noah in 1978. Throughout his career as a businessman, he always found time to be 100% present for his children. , building electronic projects at the dining room table, selling at the local flea market, having sushi-making dinners at home, and lifelong daily conversations about their many diverse interests and pursuits.
After moving to Santa Cruz in the early 1970s, Larry continued to play Renaissance and medieval music with friends. He played with the Antiquarian Funks, the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival and with a small band called The Byrd Consort. In 1986, while serving on the board of directors of the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Larry met Marti Edwards, who shared his passion for early music and his interest in personal computers. They married in 1989 and Marti soon joined him in the business, where she worked as an active partner for the next twenty years.
One of Larry’s areas of interest has always been communications. He found it exciting to be able to send out a catalog from Santa Cruz, California, and have people all over the world respond to it. Seeing the automated equipment he had acquired for mailing clipboard catalogs sit idle between mailings, he founded Complete Mailing Service, another entity to help other businesses communicate with their customers. This business is still thriving in Santa Cruz under its new owner and new name: Complete Mailing and Printing.
That same passion for communication led him into the world of amateur radio and later into his lifelong captivation with the Internet. In 1988, Larry learned Morse code and became an amateur radio operator, under the call sign AA6MV. He and Marti (N6ULI) took trips to several remote islands on “DX Expeditions” where they enjoyed talking by shortwave radio to other “hams” around the world. They discovered that they also shared many other interests: organic gardening, beekeeping, winemaking, fiber arts (weaving, knitting, spinning, dyeing fibers with natural pigments), bird watching , travel, photography and meeting new friends in every new field. they continued.
In the early 2000s, a relative introduced him to the world of ornithology. As a result, Larry became totally immersed in the world of bird photography, taking workshops with well-known American bird photographers and traveling with Marti to many locations across the United States to photograph birds in their natural setting. He spent many hours photographing hummingbirds at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, where the family placed a bench in his memory in the newly planted succulent garden in the South Africa section.
Larry has developed a keen “eye” to see and capture, not only birds, but also people, plants and abstract patterns. Eventually, Larry took up black and white street photography and spent many hours walking the streets of Santa Cruz, Bisbee, Chicago and Santa Fe, capturing anything that caught his well-developed eye. His work has been sold to galleries in California, Arizona and New Mexico.
In 2015 Larry returned to his old passion for early music. Before the pandemic, he and Marti attended all the local chamber music concerts they could. They also traveled out of state for chamber music performances and participated in numerous viola da gamba workshops in California and Arizona. Larry has often remarked that there is nothing more satisfying than playing music with friends.
Larry’s ability to single-mindedly focus on one of his many interests will be remembered and appreciated by all who knew him. A true Renaissance man, once he became passionate about a subject, he focused on learning everything he could. Other interests took a back seat as he deepened his knowledge of a new subject. Her latest project followed the same pattern: the decision to redesign the front yard with draft-resistant plants resulted in a new pile of books to devour about succulents.
We will always cherish Larry’s keen curiosity about just about anything he encountered, his brilliant analytical skills, his many passionate interests, his generosity, his zest for life and his quiet sense of humor, which accompanied until the end. But beyond all these gifts, his kindness and his concern for others stand out from all those who knew him.
We won’t be having any services at this time, but we’re asking anyone who wants to celebrate Larry to come out and do something special in his honor. Help us celebrate our Renaissance man by doing something you love and are passionate about and making every day count.
david mcdonald
View the online memorial for Larry Selman
Published by Santa Cruz Sentinel on January 30, 2022.