Larry Neil Buchanan, 73, died quietly at his home in Chandler, Arizona, on November 6, 2020, from pancreatic cancer. Born January 8, 1947, in Long Beach, California, to Neil Warren Buchanan and Phyllis (Prouty) Buchanan, he graduated from Long Beach Poly High School and USC, where he met his wife of 51 years, Katie Warren. Accepted to two law schools and a creative writing master’s program at San Francisco State, he instead joined the U.S. Army Reserves and started his retail career at May Company and Ohrbach’s in Los Angeles.
In 1984, Larry began his tenure at Saks Fifth Avenue, where he opened new stores in Palm Springs, Denver, and Santa Barbara, and also served the community in civic and charitable organizations. He retired in 2012 as Vice President and General Manager of the Phoenix location.
Larry genuinely cared for his employees. When he first came to Phoenix, he met with each associate in his office to get to know them, a project that took months. He remembered your favorite sports teams and asked about your family. He once escorted a customer out of the store who had insulted an associate.
Along with a strong work ethic, Larry had a passion for golf, travel, and good food and good times with good friends. He liked reading crime novels, and in his retirement, wrote almost every day, regularly emailing “muses” to family and friends, ranging from a few lines to short stories. His margaritas were legendary.
Larry played golf regularly, even in 110-degree heat, had three holes-in-one, and once scored an eagle on the first hole of the New Course, St. Andrews Links. He relished traveling with Katie and his extended family or dear friends to Europe, Asia, and South America. Favorite destinations included Machu Picchu, the Galapagos, Garland’s in Sedona, Tibet, and many national parks with the grandkids, who called him Papa. He loved taking care of his grandkids, who asked for special PB&Js and original bedtime stories.
Larry is survived by his wife Katie; his three children, Maggie (Jon) McDonald, of Colleyville, Texas; Libby Buchanan (Jacob Cunningham), of Los Angeles, California; and Phil Buchanan, of Chandler; his four grandkids, Kate, Jack, Ezra, and Naomi; his sister Suzanne Drake, of Brea, California; and his brother Jay (Susan) Buchanan, of Vista, California; and numerous nephews and nieces. Larry was cremated. No services will be held at this time. Donations to the Lustgarten Foundation for pancreatic cancer research in his name would be greatly appreciated.
