Family and friends of Acton-Agua Dulce education official Larry Layton confirmed his death over the weekend due to heart failure. He was 75.
Layton was a member of the governing board for the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District at the time of his death, as well as a longtime attorney and the founder of the Larry H. Layton School of Law.
A statement attributed to the family was posted a Facebook page in Larry’s name:
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the sad news of the passing of a great man. Lawrence Hoyt Layton is no longer with us after experiencing heart failure last night. … Services will be announced at a later date. Rest in peace, Larry and know your family and friends love you and will greatly miss you.”
Those who knew Layton remembered his passion for the community and his concern and dedication for its schools Monday.
“Larry Layton was a person in his political capacities who encouraged all points of view to be heard and considered,” said Ken Pfalzgraf, a fellow AADUSD board member who confirmed the news from district officials Monday. “There’s a chunk of our town missing now.”
Pfalzgraf fondly remembered the impact Layton had on his own family, when his daughter, who’s now a senior, was a sophomore in high school who expressed interest in studying the law through a summer camp at Stanford.
“Upon hearing about (the summer workshop), Larry called one Saturday morning and asked to see my daughter in his office — he proceeded to tell her how excited he was about her interest in law, and then gave her her very first set of law books,” Pfalzgraf recalled. “As I looked on, the gleam in Larry’s eyes was that of a grandfather or an elder in the community who knows they’re sending a young person down a positive path in their future.”
Pfalzgraf also credited Layton with being a key figure in passing the Measure CF bond that helped make the high school his daughter attended, Vasquez High, possible.
A Facebook post announcing the death was met with dozens of friends who left their condolences.
A call Monday placed to Eternal Valley Memorial Park indicated information regarding funeral service was not yet available.
