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Virginia Oliver

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It’s been three years now that trumpet player and Air Force veteran Larry Kingsley has stood on a street corner for an hour at a time playing renditions of patriotic tunes in downtown Cary, N.C.

Kingsley, 83, used to play about three days a week, right next to a bucket asking for donations to benefit research for Alzheimer’s disease. That was when his wife of 23 years sat behind him in a wheelchair, snuggled under a blanket when the weather was chilly.

But when Georgeanne Kingsley died last summer from complications of Alzheimer’s, Kingsley found himself with some time on his hands, since he had been her caregiver. He decided to step up both his trumpet playing and his fundraising.

For the past nine months, <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/cary-s-trumpet-man-veteran-raises-14-000-for-alzheimer-s-research-playing-music-in-downtown/20841002/" target="_blank">Kingsley has been out on his corner</a> every evening except Sundays and foul-weather days, playing tunes and hymns including “God Bless America” and “Amazing Grace.” The bucket is still next to him.

His hour-long nightly ritual, a tribute to his lost love, has raised a total of more than $15,000 for Alzheimer’s research.

“I know that I’m honoring my wife and raising money that will help somebody — not her, but somebody — once they find out exactly what is going on,” said Kingsley, who is a father and grandfather.

 Courtesy of Larry Kingsley

His playing is part benevolence, part grief.

“You have to figure out, how am I going to use my time?” said Kingsley, who has lived in Cary, just west of Raleigh, for about 45 years. “God gave us X amount of time. I decided that I would go out there every night and play.”

About <a href="https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures" target=_blank>6.7 million Americans</a> are living with Alzheimer’s disease, almost two-thirds of them women, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

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After watching his wife slowly slip away from him, Kingsley said he views his trumpet-playing as a ministry of sorts. Listeners often stop to talk to him or write him notes, telling him how much his music has touched them. Sometimes people share with Kingsley about how Alzheimer’s has stolen their own loved ones, he said.

“I like to converse with people,” Kingsley said. “I like to talk to people and find out what makes them tick.”

Courtesy of Larry Kingsley

People — often more than 50 on a Saturday night — walk by and drop cash, anywhere from pocket change to a hundred-dollar bill, into the bucket when they see Kingsley’s sign. He gives the money to the treasurer of the <a href="https://carymacgregorrotary.org/" target=_blank>Cary MacGregor Rotary Club</a>, where he is a founding member. The club puts the money toward its <a href="https://cartfund.org/" target=_blank>Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust</a> program.

Bob Melone, a past president of the Cary MacGregor Rotary Club, said that Kingsley embodies the Rotary Club motto of “Service Above Self.”

“If you knew Larry, you would think that this is nothing out of character for him,” said Melone, 87, of Apex, N.C. “You come to the realization that Larry is the greatest fulfiller of that motto because his love of service really demonstrated who he is as a person.”

Melone said Kingsley took on the role of caregiver for his wife with dedication and gusto, similar to how he has approached his trumpet playing and fundraising.

His dog ran off after his wife died. A remarkable rescue ensued.

Kingsley said it’s not all altruism. He gets a lot out of his twilight playing.

“It gets me out of the house and engaged with people,” Kingsley said.

He said people sometimes ask him: “Don’t you get tired of meeting all those strangers?” He likes to reply: “I haven’t met a stranger yet.”

“It’s been beneficial to me, and hopefully will benefit a lot of others likewise,” Kingsley said.

He has some regulars who will often stop by to hear him play. One of them, Alaina Leske, 23, said she enjoys his music and conversation, and the Alzheimer’s cause is an important one to her. Leske’s grandmother, Marilyn Ryberg, died of the disease in 2016.

“He brings smiles to so many people’s faces when they hear him play,” Leske said. “It adds so much to the ambiance of downtown Cary.”

Kingsley first played the trumpet as part of his high school marching band during the 1950s. Later, in the 1960s, he bought a trumpet while he was in the Air Force and started playing again.

Larry Kingsley

His current ritual started on Memorial Day three years ago. Kingsley took part in the <a href="https://www.tapsacrossamerica.org/" target=_blank>Taps Across America</a> challenge, in which people across the country play taps at 3 p.m. Eastern. He pulled his trumpet out of his closet, where it had been sitting for decades, and played on the street with his neighbors. Kingsley enjoyed the experience so much that he decided to move his show downtown, and perform regularly. He put out his bucket, and when people began donating, he realized he was onto something.

At the time, he brought along his wife so she wouldn’t be left alone and could hopefully enjoy the music.

She hired him as a caregiver for her family. They fell in love.

Kingsley’s trumpet was trusty, but when he met musician Lowell “Red” Arwood one day as he played, Arwood told him about a friend selling his trumpet. Kingsley decided he could use an upgrade, so he bought the <a href="https://www.bachbrass.com/" target=_blank>Bach Stradivarius</a>, which he plays now.

“I’m really impressed with Larry,” said Arwood, who is retired <a href="https://www.usarmyband.com/ensembles/the-u-s-army-blues" target=_blank>from the U.S. Army Blues</a> jazz band. “I think it’s really a tribute to his character that he would do that and find something that he would put all that effort and time into, and donate all the money he made from it.”

In addition to his trumpet playing, Kingsley keeps himself busy through his church, as well as a prison ministry and mission trips. He makes balloon animals at community events, volunteers with children at the YMCA, and wrote a children’s book called <a href="https://www.liferichpublishing.com/BookStore/BookDetails/633452-Grippo-the-Friendly-Shark" target=_blank>“Grippo the Friendly Shark.”</a>

Larry and Georgeanne Kingsley were each other’s second marriage; she had three sons, and he had a son and daughter. Now, the family has nine grandchildren. He reminisces about his years as a caregiver for Georgeanne, who remained at home until about the last six weeks of her life, when she moved to a care facility.

“Alzheimer’s will be the longest goodbye you probably ever will experience in your lifetime,” Kingsley said. “You sort of have to say goodbye each hour, each day … tell them you love them, kiss them, caress them, even though you’re not getting a whole lot in return.”

But getting something in return has never been his main motivation. He said he is drawn to the corner each evening, and he doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.

“I plan to continue to do it,” said Kingsley, adding that his friends and supporters keep him coming back.

As long as he is alive and healthy, he said, he’ll have both his trumpet and his bucket with him at twilight, playing with purpose.

Kellie B. Gormly

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Larry Kingsley plays trumpet nightly to raise money for Alzheimer's

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