Courage Counts: The Life of Larry Derryberry

By Bob Burke 

Larry Derryberry was a pint-sized 4-H Club boy who grew up on a red dirt tenant cotton farm in southwest Oklahoma and went on to change the entire political landscape of Oklahoma. His story is important to Oklahoma, not only for what historians have reported to us, but for the behind-the-scenes stories that are told here for the first time and would otherwise have been lost forever.

As a youngster, Larry wore plaster casts on both legs and underwent repeated surgeries to battle a physical condition that prevented him from running and playing baseball, his dream. With the support of family and friends, his hard work, intelligence, faith, sense of humor, and most

importantly—his courage—Larry took on challenges of public office that led him to prosecute the most notorious criminals in Oklahoma and fight corruption of public officials from the local level to the State Capitol.

In nearly 20 years as a state representative and attorney general of Oklahoma, Larry leaves behind a legacy of courage and integrity in state government.