Larry Bernard Mette

Larry Bernard Mette, 78, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Friday, September 11, 2026. He was born on May 13, 1948, one of ten children born to Bernard H. & Clara Mette. He was a member of the St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.

He graduated from Robinson High School in 1967 and was drafted into the United States Army the following July. He served with A Battery, 7th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division, in Vietnam, and was stationed at Firebase Crook in June of 1969. He came home decorated: four Bronze Stars, several Purple Hearts, and the National Defense Service Medal among several others. He also left Vietnam with a name: "Big Man," which spoke to the bravery with which he met what was asked of him.

After being honorably discharged in November of 1969, he bought himself a blue Chevelle and pointed it toward Indianapolis, where he attended business college and studied computer science. It was the right field for the way his mind worked. He had a memory that held onto everything and an organized, methodical way of thinking. He put both to work in August of 1981, when he founded National Business Computers, Inc., a company that specialized in automated solutions for the distribution industry. He had a gift for seeing what a small company could become, and then for getting it there. Companies that came to him small didn't stay small; several grew into multi-million-dollar businesses with his help.

Away from the work, he liked what he liked and saw no reason to change it. Barbecue. Banana pudding. Ice cream. German chocolate cake on his birthday, year after year. He had a lasting affection for the old westerns—The Rifleman, Santa Fe Trail—and for the Atlanta Braves, whom he followed faithfully. The Georgia Bulldogs kept him company for the rest of the year.

What people remember most, though, is how easy he was to be around. He could find common ground with a stranger in no time, and could hold up his end of a conversation on nearly any subject. He was also the one you called when you needed advice and wanted it straight. What he had, he shared—a generosity his family and friends all knew well.

Health struggles marked his last six years, one after another, and he fought every one of them as a man determined to live. But these hard years never touched the part of him people loved. During his stay at the nursing home in Bridgeport, the staff took to bringing their own families in to meet him, because they wanted the people closest to them to know him.

He is survived by his sisters, Judy (Frank) Watson, Eileen (Dean) Smithenry, Jane Howard, and Carol (Jack) Watts; his brother, David Mette; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, Joann Daugherty, Loretta Inboden, and Mary Lou Anthrop; and his brother, Bernie Don Mette.

A time of visitation will be held from 9:00 to 10:50 a.m. on Friday, September 18th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson. A procession to Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church in Robinson will follow, where Father David Beagles will officiate a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. A committal service will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery, where military honors will be accorded by the combined units of the U.S. Army, the Robinson V.F.W. Post #4549, the Robinson American Legion Post #69, and the Flat Rock American Legion Post #132.

Memorial contributions may be made to either Oak Grove Cemetery or the VFW Transportation Fund, with envelopes available at the funeral home.