Longtime residents supported district, honored by name of school

Students who attend Lawrence and Heidi Canarelli Middle School likely also live in a house built by the school’s namesakes.

Lawrence, or Larry as he prefers to be called, is founder and CEO of American West Homes, which owned the land surrounding the school, 7808 S. Torrey Pines Drive, and built more than 2,000 homes in the surrounding neighborhoods. His company has built more than 16,000 homes in the valley since its formation in 1984, he said.

Larry has come a long way for someone whose first home was a tent.

As a young boy, his family lived on a dairy farm in Roseburg, Ore. They got to shower once a week on Saturdays where the cows were washed and slept in a tent near the outhouse until one day when his shelter was destroyed.

“The tent actually burned down,” Larry said. “Things can’t get much worse.

“As those things go on, you develop a drive to do something. My anchor was always the drive to have a house. I expanded that into what I believe other people should have. They should have the best housing that can be provided for them.”

Heidi, who was born in San Bernardino, Calif., and raised in an upper-middle-class family, said her husband is “truly that Horatio Alger character.”

“He was always the kid on the other side of the track,” Heidi said. “He made all his own money since the time he was 8,” which is when he got a paper route.

Even though he qualified for free lunch as a kid, he would never take it, Heidi said. Larry did not want the other kids to know he was poor. Some days all he could bring for lunch was two slices of bread, so Larry would cut off the crusts and put them between the slices to give the appearance he had a sandwich to eat.

Larry met Heidi at a cocktail party as seniors at UCLA in 1969. They married 10 months later, shortly before Larry was drafted into the Army.

“I had the good fortune of being sent to Alaska instead of Vietnam,” Larry said.

Larry and Heidi moved to Delta Junction, Alaska, where Heidi worked as a schoolteacher while Larry was stationed at the then-Arctic Test Center. Her specialty was government, but she ended up teaching special education, reading, science and physical education, among other subjects.

Despite the often minus-60 temperatures, the Canarellis said it was a great two years.

“We were young and stupid and loved it,” Heidi said.

Their first child, Stacia, was born in Alaska seven days before they flew back to California.

Larry attended graduate school at the University of Southern California before starting a career with a homebuilding company in 1973. Larry built homes in Beverly Hills while he and Heidi were raising kids in Manhattan Beach. In 1984, he left to form his own company and moved the family to Las Vegas.

The Canarellis have four children and 11 grandchildren living in Las Vegas. All of their children attended public schools, something Larry is proud of.

“We think with the proper support, they all got a fantastic education,” he said. “We’ve always supported public schools in any way we can.”

The Canarellis have made numerous donations to the Clark County School District and its schools, so many that Larry has trouble recalling them.

They donated to build a computer lab at Silverado High School, athletic fields at Green Valley High School, athletic facilities, lighting for night games, land for parking lots at other schools and for band uniforms at Desert Oasis High School, among many others contributions.

Heidi, who stopped teaching to raise her four children, volunteered at their schools and served on their PTA organizations. Larry also spent nearly two decades coaching youth soccer and baseball teams.

In 2001, the Canarellis were being considered for namesakes of a school to be built. Their children attended the naming committee meeting and did not immediately tell their parents the good news but took them out to dinner and surprised them. They also received a phone call from then-Gov. Kenny Guinn congratulating them.

Both Heidi and Larry, Green Valley residents, said they were thrilled and proud to have their name on a school.

“It is a really, really neat honor,” Larry said. “Having the recognition does kind of commit you, not just to supporting your schools but supporting CCSD. You feel more of a sense of ownership of the school and the school system in Clark County.”

The school district asked the Canarellis if they had a school preference, and they chose the school in Coronado Ranch because Larry’s company owned the surrounding land.

Heidi visits the school several times a year to volunteer, watch basketball games or to attend other special events. Larry said he tries to make it out at least once a year for the school’s annual awards ceremony, which gives cash prizes to top students as part of an essay contest.

Heidi also said there are some responsibilities that come along with having their names on a school.

“It means we have to mind our P’s and Q’s,” she said. “And I guess we’ll have to stay together.”

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 702-224-5524.