Lawrence Bruce Gebert

One morning Larry Gebert was at City Light Home for Women and Children in Boise doing a live report for KTVB. While he was chatting with staff, someone mentioned a door that wasn’t working properly. As Boise Rescue Mission Ministries President Rev. Bill Roscoe tells it, “Immediately, Larry asked, “Would you like me to fix it?” Well sure! So, he went to his bag and found his Leatherman tool, took the door off, fixed and rehung it, all in about ten minutes. I’m convinced that Larry could fix anything.” This is just one of countless examples of Larry’s willingness to jump in and help in a pinch.

Larry was simply an amazing human being. He was a dedicated and loving husband, father and friend. Larry is best known in our community as a meteorologist for KTVB for 30 years and for his tireless commitment to helping dozens and dozens of nonprofits and other community organizations. Ok, he’s also very well known for that iconic mustache, his eyebrows, khakis and sneakers, larger than life persona, his 6’6” height and his epic storytelling.

Larry passed away April 1, 2022 surrounded by his loving family after suffering complications from a heart attack.

Larry adored his family. They were priority number one. He would water ski across the Atlantic Ocean if any of them needed anything, anything at all, even if it was just a bite of his famous prime rib. He absolutely loved water skiing, camping, cooking or going to dinner with his wife Julie and his sons Austin, Michael and David and their spouses and friends, as well as friends of friends. Everyone was welcome. Speaking of water skiing, Larry’s streak of consecutive weeks skiing finally ended at 995, when he cut back to once a month. Yep! No matter the weather, Larry was out there on the water, usually at Lucky Peak Reservoir. Keep in mind, you can’t water ski alone. Julie was right there with him, doing a lot of skiing herself, but also piloting the boat. Larry lovingly referred to her as “The Admiral.”

Larry adored his KTVB family. He was always there to lend an ear, some manual labor, a ride, some solid advice, or a really long story that didn’t actually have anything to do with the original conversation, but it helped take your mind off your woes. Larry was also the creator of “Cheesy Fridays” at the station. Every Friday he would bring string cheese for the entire morning show crew and others. He was also known to invite co-workers who were far from their families over for Christmas morning or Thanksgiving dinner. He loved to give them a family away from family. 

Larry adored his viewers. When it came to his weather forecasting he gave his absolute best every day to keep his KTVB viewers and their families safe. A true pro. He also never lost his joy for meeting them in public. It gave him great pleasure to have a nice conversation with those who tuned in. 

Larry adored serving the communities of the Treasure and Magic Valleys. Every year he would host/emcee/auctioneer dozens of fundraisers for nonprofits and other community organizations. One year he said he hosted 86 different events. The other years, it was probably around 84 or 85, and Julie was right there by his side at just about all of them. He helped charities in our area raise millions and millions of dollars in total. For example, the Great Polar Bear Challenge to benefit Make-A-Wish Idaho was near and dear to Larry’s heart. Not only did Larry help promote the fundraiser, but every New Year’s Day for 20 years he would head out to water ski on the ice-cold waters of Lucky Peak wearing only swim trunks and a life vest. The organization says over those 20 years, Larry helped raise $517,000 in cash donations, enough to fund 80 wishes.

The full list of nonprofits he helped is simply too long to include here, but it’s important to point out a couple more; the Boise Rescue Mission and Make-A-Wish were mentioned earlier. Metro Meals on Wheels is another organization Larry was passionate about supporting. CEO Grant Jones said this of Larry: “Throughout the years, there have been so many light-hearted, fun, and funny times. One thing that keeps coming back to me is our mutual love of puns, and how we always tried to outdo each other. Everyone around us covered their ears, begging us to stop! Larry meant the world to Metro Meals on Wheels. He was a friend, supporter, and advocate of Metro. I couldn’t count the number of events he helped us with over the years.”

Idaho Foodbank CEO Karen Vauk said this: “When I think of Larry, I think of his great laugh and the word community. Larry shared the very best of what it means to have community spirit. He didn’t just cover events, he joined them. Whether he was meeting us in the early hours to join the Boy Scouts collecting food for those facing hunger, sharing stories about people struggling with basic needs in the Treasure and Magic Valleys, or encouraging people to join in a community gathering, his aim was to create understanding and community. The thing I admired most about Larry was his clear intention to make each individual he met feel good about themselves. He was so selfless in that way.”

Larry also helped raise awareness for countless fundraisers and community events through his “Where’s Larry?” live shots and in-studio reports.

Larry was a true character and a good, genuine soul. He loved to tell a joke, even when it was at his own expense – his mustache, his khakis, Flat Larry, his height, his lack of any singing ability or his penchant for telling very long stories. He knew who he was, and is loved for EVERYTHING he was. There will simply never be another like him. 

Larry is survived by his loving wife Julie, his sons Austin Gebert, Michael di Donato (Nicole) and David di Donato (Ashley), his mother Marie Gebert and his brothers John and Glenn Gebert. He is preceded in death by his father Floyd Gebert.