Larkin Ends 40-Year Career in State Legislature

NEWBURGH – State Senator William was given a hero’s farewell on New Year’s Eve day as his 40-years of service in the State Assembly and Senate come to an end. The Cornwall-on-Hudson resident, who turns 91 in February, is retiring.

Friends, relatives and supporters joined in for a royal sendoff to the lawmaker.

Prior to representing the region in Albany, Larkin was New Windsor town supervisor and served in the US Army for 24 years, retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He served in World War II and Korea as well as held posts at the Pentagon and the Stewart Army Base.

During his Army career, Larkin helped protect President John F. Kennedy on a visit to Berlin and met Martin Luther King, Jr. when escorting one of the Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement.

Among the medals earned, Larkin was awarded the Legion of Merit and seven Army Commendation Medals.

During his tenure in the state legislature, he was instrumental in securing funding to construct the Kaplan Center at the SUNY Orange Newburgh campus, was a driving force in creating the Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor as well as facilitating the development of the Newburgh Armory Unity Center in Newburgh.

Assemblyman James Skoufis will replace Larkin in the Senate in this next two-year term.

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