April 9, 2015

Dr. Larry Barzune

Larry Barzune was born in Dallas in 1939 into a family with deep local roots. His grandparents were Romanian immigrants, and he recalled with wonder that his grandfather left Romania at only 13 or 14 to avoid conscription into the army. That grandfather eventually ran a dry goods store on the square in Garland, and Larry cherished Saturdays spent there, driving up two-lane roads past cotton and cornfields. The family was close to his mother's relatives, and Larry grew up in a large two-story duplex on South Boulevard in South Dallas, a home he understood still stands on what has been declared a historic block.

For part of his childhood the family lived in Eunice, near the Texas and New Mexico border, where his father was the only physician for miles, running a small six-bed hospital that handled trauma, burns, deliveries, and surgery. As the only Jewish family and the doctor's family in town, the Barzunes stood apart, and Larry's mother helped start the community library. Witnessing his father stop to render aid at a car wreck, and seeing the reverence people showed him, cemented Larry's sense that medicine was less a choice than a calling. The family returned to Dallas around 1949 or 1950, where Larry attended Walnut Hill and later high school.

Larry began college at the University of Texas, where he met Dolores on a blind date, and finished at North Texas before marrying in 1961. He was accepted to Southwestern medical school, and completed his internship and residency at Baylor, choosing to train only in Dallas so his children would not face the stress of moving. He opened his practice on October 1, 1974, and over the years shifted from general surgery to weight management surgery, drawn by the chance to build lasting relationships and truly alter patients' lives. The father of two and grandfather of three, Larry advised the next generation to be their own person, follow their passions, and do the right thing.

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