Newcomb Hall Building Manager Lazarus "Larry" Powell died Monday night of pneumonia. He was 64.
Powell was the director of student building supervisors and assistants and worked very closely with them, Newcomb Hall Director Bill Ashby said.
Powell had struggled with respiratory issues over the last few years.
"I talked to Larry on Friday and Saturday, and his main concern was still the students," said Danny Steeper, assistant director for operations. "I think that's very telling about the man and what he was passionate about."
Powell arrived in Charlottesville as a student at the University in 1958, the year Newcomb Hall opened. He began as a student manager in Newcomb Hall and graduated from the University in 1962. He was hired as Newcomb Hall's building manager in 1982.
"He really believed in Newcomb as a community center, a place where faculty, students and staff could come together," Ashby said. "His work ethic really demonstrated that. He took a tremendous amount of pride in this place."
Fourth-year College student Curran Jhanjee, who works as a building attendant supervisor in Newcomb Hall, said Powell was a vital part of the building.
"When I think of Newcomb Hall, I think of Larry," Jhanjee said. "It's really kind of hard to think of the place without him. He was pretty much Mr. Newcomb."
Jhanjee said the building managers held a meeting yesterday about Powell and hope to erect a memorial to him within Newcomb Hall.
"We were thinking of maybe renaming the art gallery after him and putting up a piece he liked a lot as a permanent fixture," Jhanjee said.
Ashby said currently there are no plans in the works to look for a replacement for Powell.
"It's been pretty devastating to folks around here," Ashby said. "At some point in the future, we'll think about our plans."
The funeral is scheduled for this Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
"There wasn't anyone who knew [Newcomb] better," former Dean of Students Bob Canevari said. "He was very soft-spoken, but a very dedicated person. He's a good person, and he will be missed."
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