Pettis County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Parham, 50, speaks with Al Neyhart, a 74-year-old Vietnam veteran, about the van that Neyhart lives out of on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Parham recently began in a community engagement role after more than two decades at the Sedalia Police Department, leading him to be a first contact to many members of the roughly 22,000 person town — including “eccentric” folks like Neyhart.

The Bothwell Hotel and Spa reflects on the entrance of the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office, alongside rolling clouds.

Larry reacts while scrolling through emails at the department headquarters in Sedalia. While Larry said he’s seeing improvement when it comes to integration of the community, he said there is still work that remains to be done. "My grandparents always said 'treat others the way you want to be treated' — that's a big one," he said. "If you can stick with that there would be a lot less problems in the world."

Larry darts a look over to Republican County Commissioner Israel Baeza, left, while speaking alongside County Treasurer Kim Lyne, right, after a community meeting at the Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Missouri. Larry serves on multiple community boards, volunteering in various capacities to serve families and teens in the rural Missouri community.

Larry has his beard oiled after a trim by barber Dylan Edens, 33, at Two Bit Barbershop and Cigar Lounge. Larry is a longtime client of the locale, often enjoying a whiskey and cigar on the shop’s second floor lounge to unwind from work. "In a perfect world, a law enforcement agency should [reflect] a community," he said when asked about being one of the only Black law enforcement officials in the community. "We just always do the best we can do."

Larry reacts while speaking to barber Dylan and Tim Keller, the 45-year-old owner of Two-Bit Barber Company in downtown Sedalia. Larry is a longtime client of the locale, often enjoying a whiskey and cigar on the shop’s second floor lounge. "I'm not an overly religious person, but I really kind of had a feeling that 'Now I see. I see God playing the long game,'" he said about the moment when he got his new community engagement job with the sheriff’s department. "You look at [your life] as your superhero origin story."

Larry bellows out plumes of smoke at Two-Bit Barber Company. Smoking cigars slowly brings stillness to what can be a hectic career, he said. “It wasn't until my sons got me my own humidor that really got me going — that took me down a rabbit hole.”

Larry reacts after imparting wisdom to his son Xavier Parham, 27, while smoking cigars at Xavier’s farm home in Pilot Grove, Mo. Xavier and his wife Shani are expecting their first child in November, marking Larry’s first grandchild. 

A circa 1997 photograph of Larry, his wife Lorie Parham, and their eldest son Xavier is affixed to a scrapbook at Xavier’s home in Pilot Grove. Larry and Lorie also have another son, Logan, 25, who currently is serving in the military in another state. “One of them is our country mouse and the other is our city mouse,” Larry said of the boys, making note of their dichotomous personalities. Xavier lives on a farm and has a southern drawl hanging on his voice, while Logan’s interests fall more in line with fashion and other urban motifs.

Larry embraces his wife Lorie at their son and daughter-in-law’s family farm in Pilot Grove. “I had to turn away [and tell myself] ‘don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,” Larry said of the family name being carried on. “My grandmother was telling me that [my great grandfather] would be over the moon right now knowing there’s another Parham boy coming.”