Charles Larrabee

Charles Larrabee, who enjoyed a distinguished career with the Rodey Law Firm and served on the New Mexico Supreme Court, died in late March at his Albuquerque home. He was 81.

Larrabee joined the Rodey firm after graduating from the UNM School of Law in 1952, and went on to enjoy a distinguished career, retiring in 1989.

Following his retirement, he was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court, but served only five months, choosing not to endure the rigors of campaigning for a permanent seat in a general election.

He was an avid flyer and owned several airplanes. He and his wife, Pat, also traveled extensively around the world, sometimes bringing along their children and grandchildren.

Larrabee was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and moved around through the Midwest and New England as his father rose through the ranks of the fledgling commercial airline industry. In 1945, he graduated from the British School in Montevideo, Uruguay, with a Cambridge Certificate, and went on to join the U.S. Navy.

Following World War II, he returned to Iowa, where he attended the University of Iowa. After graduation, he married his wife, Pat, and they moved to Albuquerque, where he enrolled in the UNM School of Law.

The family asks that contributions be made in his name to the UNM School of Law or the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Foundation.