Canarelli, Larry (Lawrence D.)

Lawrence Canarelli was born in Roseburg, Oregon shortly after World War II. His family had no money and lived in a tent on the Umpqua River, foraging and living day-to-day. After their tent and everything they owned burned down, Canarelli’s family moved to various logging camps through Oregon and California. His father quit his job and unexpectedly left the family, leaving the 21-year old mother no choice but to put Canarelli and his three siblings in a Pentecostal orphanage. His mom married his stepfather when Canarelli was nine, and they all moved into a one-bedroom house.

Canarelli went to self-fund his education from the University of California Los Angeles, complete two years of the United States Army service, and earn his master’s degree from the University of Southern California. Afterwards, he began his career working with a large home building firm in the Los Angeles area. Canarelli switched home firms three years later, and that moved him to Las Vegas, Nevada. He started his own real estate company, American West and expanded the metropolitan development throughout the city.