There are few people who leave a dent on their world. One who did was Keith Larkin, who passed on last week to the rewards of eternal life with Jesus Christ. He died on his birthday at age 88.
Keith was a WWII Air Force Pilot who flew almost every plane in the Air Force inventory. After the war, he became famous as the inventor of the light weight headset. His company, Plantronics, was very successful, and Keith bought property in the Sierra Mountains and founded a camp, Deer Valley, for underprivileged kids, which he ran for many years until his profits from Plantronics were gone. It was then that he and his wife Cynthia began another company in their kitchen which they called ACS, manufacturing lightweight headsets. Another fortune was made. That is when I met Keith. It was 1985, and he had purchased a ship from the Canadian government, loaded it with food, and was setting sail for Haiti. I rode up on my bike, walked aboard the “Good Samaritan”, and began a conversation with Keith that lasted for the next 20 years.
When he ran out of the ACS money, I watched Keith begin another company in Ft. Pierce manufacturing fiberglass campers that turned into houseboats (brilliant design!). Laura was actually the model who sat on top of the “Otter” when it made the cover of “RV News”. He and Cynthia also were making flights to Haiti in their Seneca, delivering many pounds of food, medicine, and other supplies to the many needy families. Over the years, “Air Care” supported many ministries, including our school project along the Rio Coco. It was Keith who flew young Laura Uyeda to Honduras before she married me, to check out if she really was ready for Fourth World living. It was during that flight over the Western Caribbean that I realized just what an outstanding pilot Keith was- we both began dozing off after a big lunch at our fuel stop in Cozumel Mexico, yet the altimeter never wavered more than 100 feet off our assigned altitude. He could hold altitude and heading better than an autopilot, even while half asleep!
The fiberglass business didn’t turn over the millions, so Keith started another headset company, “Pro
Tech Communications” and again made it big, before a technology partner pulled the plug. Keith was a man who was always thinking, dreaming, and planning his next business success so that he could again have a bankroll to fund the next ministry. It happened often at a restaurant, where he would suddenly get inspired and begin drawing on a napkin. He had a file cabinet full of those napkins. At the same time, he would do things like show up for dinner at our home wearing two different shoes. “Nobody will notice” he told Cynthia. 10 Seconds after walking through the door, Lukas said “Uncle Keith, did you know that you have on two different shoes?”
Keith had some major accomplishments for a man who dropped out of high school at 17 to join the Army Air Corps. He designed every headset used by NASA from the Mercury project through the Space Shuttle. The first words heard from the Moon came through Keith’s invention. He also fed thousands of kids in Haiti, and around the world. He funded pastors in India through his friend Danny Lehman, the director of YWAM Hawaii. He started the Great Commission Bible School in Oregon in the 80’s. The kids camp in the Sierras, Deer Valley, touch many who were positively influenced for the Lord. His efforts helped us educate thousands of Miskito Indian children. Until he ran out of steam a few years ago, Keith was always active in missionary projects. He was an inspiration for all who knew him. How many people do you know who made a million dollars and gave it all away- twice!
What can we learn from Keith’s life?
- We are all given talents and abilities by God, and if we are persistent in using them, then He can accomplish much through us. If there was one characteristic that Keith displayed, it was persistence. Although a natural at design, he had many “electronic” challenges to overcome to make Plantronics, ACS, and Pro Tech Communications a success. He persisted and many were blessed!
- We are only conduits for the Lord. What He gives us is for His use, for His purposes. He owns it all, and when He tells us to direct His resources in a certain directions, many good things will happen. When I met Cynthia, she was driving a snazzy white Jaguar yet within a few months, she had sold that, along with her jewelry, to fund ministry. Cyndo later became the queen of TJ Max and drove a Buick and had fun doing it! What an attitude she and Keith had about their resources.
- It is okay to make mistakes in the Kingdom, as long as we learn from them. Keith had many ideas that failed – like his scheme to fly fresh strawberries from the Central Valley of California to Las Vegas. The market was simply not there, and the overheated strawberries stunk up the cabin of his airplane for months!
- We must have childlike faith that God will lead, and God will provide- in all circumstances. Keith hated paying aircraft insurance premiums. He considered that a lack of faith that God would not take care of God’s airplanes, even if there were accidents. His “nose gear stuck-in-the -up-position” landing at Georgetown in the Bahamas was a classic. He shut both engines down on final approach, and had the presence of mind to hit the engine starter buttons to get the propeller blades horizontal before the touchdown and skid on the nose down the runway. God did provide a repair for that accident, and Laura and I actually helped him rebuild the nosecone.
Keith and Cyndo had one objective in life- make money through their business and use it to fuel the ministry of the Kingdom. Keith is the real inspiration behind the Rio Coco Bean Coffee business.
Thanks Keith for setting an example for us all!
