Larry Creitz contributed to the development of the national Baha’i community of Luxembourg over more than 40 years, elected for decades as a member of its National Spiritual Assembly and working especially with youth.

He passed away April 26, 2012, in Rameldange, Luxembourg, where his family had lived since the late 1970s. He was 69.

In a message to the Baha’is of Luxembourg, the Universal House of Justice wrote in part, “His many years of unstinting service to the Cause of God in a wide variety of capacities, including as a member of your National Spiritual Assembly, are remembered with admiration and gratitude.”

Born in 1942 in Saline, Kansas, Lawrence Asay Creitz grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where his parents, Lewis and Mary Creitz, joined the Baha’i Faith while he was a child. After high school, Larry enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and became an aircraft mechanic.

While stationed in England he met a fellow Baha’i, Monireh Alibabai, and they married in 1964. He was reassigned to the Frankfurt, Germany, area, and while there Larry participated in Baha’i life and assisted with upkeep of the Baha’i House of Worship in Langenhain.

On his 1966 discharge the couple moved to Denver, where he gained additional industrial training and skills. In the Baha’i community he served on the Local Spiritual Assembly, was appointed for a while to the Colorado State Goals Committee, and was elected one year as a delegate to the Baha’i National Convention. Living in a house that had been visited by ‘Abdu’l-Baha during his 1912 visit, the couple hosted weekly fireside gatherings.

After exploring their options for serving the Baha’i Faith internationally as pioneers, they and their two young sons, Mesbah and Gregory, moved in 1971 to Luxembourg, where Monireh had lived for a time earlier. Two daughters, Suesan and Nura, were born to them in the next few years.

Appointed almost immediately to various national Baha’i committees, he continued working to promote and develop the Faith in Luxembourg, with emphasis on youth.

Holding jobs in industrial management, he moved to the cities of Bridel and later Rameldange in response to national Baha’i development goals.

Larry Creitz is survived by his wife, their four children, and three grandchildren.

Information from the Office of International Pioneering