Dentist chided for his golfing abilities in fundraiser
Apr. 26—The community honored a dentist who's been practicing 46 years with a 30-minute roast that mostly chided him for his overconfidence in his golfing abilities as a fundraiser for Freedom Fest Saturday.
Dr. Larry McGary, known for his work as the dentist who took care of underprivileged kids, expressed pride in providing care to third-generation patients. Some patients he developed such a close relationship with, becoming part of their lives, including their weddings.
"I always took underprivileged kids on Medicaid," McGary said. "I believe in taking care of them."
McGary also served 10 years on the USD 475 school board and 11 years on the Healthcare Board, serving as chairman of both boards.
He also helped set up Konza Prairie Community Health Center, where he has practiced the last four years after practicing on his own with his wife, Laurie, helping him run the business for 42 years. He started working for Konza after his wife wanted to retire, but he wasn't quite ready to. He said he'd like to practice for another four years before retiring and "make it to 50."
Most attending the roast were current or former patients of his. When one of the roasters asked how many in the room had McGary's hands in their mouth at some point practically everyone in the municipal gymnasium raised their hands. One of the roasters said his wife and daughter still won't go to any other dentist than McGary — even when they lived in Texas.
His friends Dr. David Kraft, retired Col. Albert Johnson Jr., Jim Peterson and Municipal Judge Mike McCone took great pleasure in roasting McGary over his golfing abilities and the clubs he uses, for which he has earned four club titles, competed in the masters and claims to be "the best putter in 10 states," a claim he would not back down from when he took the mic in his own defense at the end of the roast.
"I am the best putter in 10 states, and on most days I can back that up," he said on the stage.
All of the roasters met McGary on the golf course and they remained golfing buddies pretty much ever since. Kraft met McGary while he was on the high school golf team, which McGary coached, and he begrudgingly admitted McGary showed him a thing or two about how to play golf.
"That's all I got on this," Kraft said after telling a few jokes about McGary's golfing abilities and the clubs he wielded. "Doc, I love you, you're one of the nicest human beings I know. I'm proud to call you my friend. Thanks, buddy, for doing this for this cause."
Peterson met McGary in 1979 on the golf course on post while they both served in the Army at Fort Riley.
"When he came to Fort Riley, he was a young major and probably weighed 145 lbs.," Peterson said. "So I have got to see him 'grow' into the man he is today."
McGary served from 1978 to 1983 and Peterson said McGary enjoyed "messing" with enlisted soldiers like him, at which time he was an E-4, and they played together often enough that hat began to play in golf tournaments together.
"When Doc first started playing golf, he couldn't golf his way out of a wet paper bag," Peterson said, "and he still can't" adding that you could beat him 50 times in a row, but that one time he beat you, he wouldn't let you hear the end of it. He shared some comical experiences they had golfing, including a time when McGary fell in the mud, couldn't get up and had to roll until he found some grass where he could get to his feet.
Johnson met McGary at the Rolling Hills course after he came to Fort Riley shortly after moving from Fort Leonardwood in 1992 and heard how McGary was the best golfer in 10 states the first day he met him. He joked that if given the chance, McGary would have given advice to professional golfers like Tiger Woods, saying "if you just give me a chance, I can make you a better golfer."
Johnson shared about a time when they golfed with a professional caddy who gave McGary "very specific instructions on what to do." When McGary didn't listen to him, the caddy started to move to spot where the ball was going to land before it lands, telling him "I'm going to where your ball is going to end up, because you're not as good as you think."
Johnson said a lot of people don't know that McGary didn't finish high school, and the reason that he didn't is because scored so high on a chemistry test as a junior in high school while visiting Southern University in Baton Rouget hat they offered him a scholarship on the spot.
"I've been around this man for so long, I'm honored to call him a friend, as all of us up here are," Johnson said. "Larry McGary, we love you, thank for this opportunity to tell stories about you."
McGary said before the roast that he was "honored and thrilled" to be roasted. He added we all have a public life, a private life and a secret life, "and after today I'm only going to have two of those left."
"Most of my secrets are out and I don't care," he said.
