Two longtime Poway pharmacists retire this month

By Emily Sorensen

The CVS in Poway will be doubly Larryless, with the retirement of longtime pharmacists Larry Lawhon and Larry Karch within a month of each other.

Losing an employee to retirement after decades of loyal service is rough, but losing two barely a month apart is even harder. The Poway CVS is saying goodbye to its two Larrys, Larry Lawhon and Larry Karch, both pharmacists who are retiring after a combined nearly 100 years in the pharmacy business.

“It’s an oddity, two people named Larry working in the same store, and retiring at the same time,” said Lawhon. Karch agreed, saying they didn’t plan to retire together. “It’s a coincidence,” said Karch.

Lawhon, who plans to retire on Sept. 15, has worked at the Poway CVS for 33 years, since the place was a Sav-on. “I’ve been at the Poway store since 1979,” said Lawhon, who became a pharmacist in 1970, going into the profession because a friend was attending pharmacy school, and Lawhon thought the pay sounded good and seemed like a good profession.

Lawhon said one of the main reasons he enjoyed being at the same store for so long was getting to know the people. “Someone I used to fill prescriptions for as a baby, is now a pharmacy tech at the store,” said Lawhon. “It’ll be difficult to leave the familiar faces.”

Karch, who has been a pharmacist for 50 years and retired earlier in the month from the Poway CVS, began working for the store in 1994. “Being able to help people is one of the interesting aspects of the job,” said Karch. “I always tried to help people if I could.”

After so long in the industry, Lawhon and Karch said they’ve seen many changes. “We had to type up all labels with a typewriter,” said Lawhon of the pharmacy industry pre-computers. “For refills, we had to look up every single one. Now, it’s quite a bit easier.” Lawhon also said that when he first left pharmacy school, generics weren’t available, and pharmacists weren’t allowed to freely substitute generics for brand name medications, like they can now.

“Science and technology has changed,” said Karch. “It’s increased the ability for pharmacists to help people. We have information at our fingertips. We can crosscheck information and get people’s records [much more easily].”

Though he’s leaving the pharmacy industry, Lawhon leaves behind a family legacy. Two of his children have taken up the family trade, with his oldest son a pharmacy tech, and his youngest going to pharmacy school.

Now that they’re not helping the people of Poway with their medications, what will Lawhon and Karch do to keep busy? “I’m going to play golf, and do some traveling,” said Lawhon, who still lives in the same house in Poway with his wife that he and his family moved into in 1979. “And do some yard chores. I’ll be able to keep busy, I’m sure.”

Karch, who has lived with his wife in Rancho Bernardo since 1986, agreed. “I plan to do some traveling,” said Karch, “spend more time with my wife. There’s always things to do around the house, and now I can finish things, rather than leave them half-done while I go to work.”