Larry Lee Paulk

Panhandle native and self-proclaimed “Best Putter in Amarillo” Larry Paulk, 81, kissed this world goodbye at his home, comforted by loved ones and three yappin’ Schnauzers on March 24th, 2024. Larry passed away the only way he knew how: onery as all hell and craving one last Marlboro Red before hittin' the road to the great beyond.  

Larry was born on April 19th,1942, to Leo and Ione Paulk in Childress, Texas, but spent most of his adolescent life growing up in the even smaller town of Clarendon - home of Greenbelt Lake and that one Dairy Queen. But in 1954, the Paulks loaded up the truck and moved to the “big city” of Amarillo, where Larry would spend the next 70 years.  

After graduating from Amarillo High School in 1960, he was the first person in his family to attend college. During college, he enlisted in the Marines but remained in the reserves and was luckily never deployed to Vietnam. He earned a business degree from West Texas State University and soon after became an accountant at the firm of Doshier, Pickens & Francis.  Larry had a gift and a love for numbers, and that gift landed him a short but storied stint as an FBI agent under J Edgar Hoover, where he did some “super secret, mysterious stuff and things.”   In his never-ending quest for the next venture -  Larry became an entrepreneur and had multiple successful businesses in Amarillo,  including - Swensen's Ice Cream, The Lettuce Works, Maison Blanche,  and The Muse - which he ran with his incredibly patient and talented wife, Kelly Paulk.  Oh, and somewhere in there, he searched for lost treasure in Mexico but came home with no treasure but a decent tan and some “funny” cigarettes. 

Larry wasn’t raised in a religious household but converted to Judaism in his 20s. However, he’d consider himself a redneck Buddhist if you asked him.  He had a limited amount of patience for most people, but the ones he loved, he loved hard.  In his free time, Larry enjoyed playing golf, watching golf, fishing, smoking cigarettes, family, the Dallas Cowboys, ice cream, lemon squares, soft serve ice cream, coconut cream pie, chicken fried steak, gambling, getting together with his best friends to have coffee at the Donut Stop, more smoking, and his dog Cole - who was responsible for multiple unsolved animal disappearances in the Amarillo area.  Things he didn’t like: bad drivers, seatbelts, the New York Giants, places he couldn’t smoke, and this one boss who made him so angry he stole the guy’s prosthetic leg while he was sleeping and threw it in a lake.   

Other notable tales: He once jumped off the roof of his house in his whitey tighties while wielding a machete to scare some trick-or-treaters (they were more than scared).  He claimed he could part clouds with his mind - with the help of the “treasure” he scored in Mexico (*see above). He once almost won a sailboat race by throwing his 250 lb nephew off the boat to gain more speed. He once got in a fistfight in his 40s at a restaurant after spotting a guy he had a beef with from his high school days (it was a draw). 

Larry was a loveable, stubborn, and mysterious man who his family and friends will hugely miss.  He is survived by his wife, Kelly Paulk, ex-wife Judy Paulk (she gets an honorable mention), sister Beverly Duggan, two sons, David and Bryan Paulk, and grandkids, Axel and Sofi Paulk.    

Larry’s life will be celebrated on April 7, 2024, at 3317 SW 6th Street, in Amarillo TX - from 2 to 4 pm. All who knew and loved him are invited to attend and pay their respects - and keep it light.  Hell, even if you didn’t love him, come by anyway… just try to blend in and enjoy the free coffee.  

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you donate to your local ASPCA… and don’t drive like a jack#ss… Larry’s watching.