from Jerry Percus

I suppose that I know Larry Spruch from 1954, when I stopped by

the NYU Institute of Mathematical Sciences for a few months during my

search for something more permanent. The phrase "I suppose" is because

my experience - shared I'm sure by all and sundry - was that once I met

Larry, it was clear that I must have known him for years, despite any

contrary numerical evidence. Larry was (and is, to be sure) the consummate

iconoclast, warm-hearted curmedgeon,.. that you just knew you would meet

one day in person!

Not that technical prowess ever took a back seat to personality. If

you were wondering (as I was) why the neat variational principles for

expectations couldn't be extended to legitimate bounds - look no further -

Larry had done it. If he was discussing with you problems of the existence

of multi-center bound states, you were honored by the assumption that you

had the potential for contributing, but knew very well that your main job

was to look intelligent while Larry did the heavy thinking. If Larry took

model scattering wave functions that people were struggling with, stuck

them into a clever variational principle and got an order of magnitude

increase in accuracy with a back-of-the-postage-stamp calculation, you

thought, "Of course."

But then, if Larry assumed some grotesque pose at the rim of

Washington Square Park so that the paying customers of the tourist buses

would feel that their payment had been justified, you also thought, "Of

course." There's only one Larry, and it has been a privelege to know him!