Larry Jeffus

Larry Jeffus learned to weld while attending New Bern High School in in New Bern, North Carolina. By the time he graduated, he was welding for 30 hours a week at a shipyard.

After graduating from high school, Jeffus studied industrial arts at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tennessee, with the goal of becoming a shop teacher. After graduating with an Associate degree, he attended the University of Tennessee's Industrial Education Program. He graduated with his B.Sc. degree, then returned the next fall to start his Master's degree.

He left the University of Tennessee before completing his M.Sc., and became a full-time teacher. He taught welding at Manchester Vocational College in Manchester, New Hampshire and later became the Welding Department Chair at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas. While teaching, he often worked part-time at welding and construction jobs, and during the summers he took full-time welding jobs.

In 1978, Jeffus started an agricultural equipment manufacturing company in Commerce, Texas.

He retired after 35 years of teaching in the classroom but continued to teach in industry. His textbook, Safety for Welders, was published in 1978.