Larry Eugene Hattan (né Horsey) was born in 1943 in Oregon City, Oregon. After graduating from high school, he became an employee of the Buck Ambulance Service, and in the late 1960s received training for the coronary ambulance project, a pilot program spearheaded by Oregon state health officer Dr. Edward Press and Portland, Oregon, cardiologist Dr. Leonard Rose. The coronary ambulance service was the first use of medical professionals who would later be referred to as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in Oregon. In October 1972, Hattan was one of four Buck Ambulance employees who resuscitated Portland Mayor Terry Schrunk following a severe heart attack.

Hattan later worked as an emergency room technician for hospitals in the Portland area and the area of Los Angeles, California. After retiring, he became a fitness trainer at gyms in the areas of Newberg, Oregon, and Sherwood, Oregon.

Although born as Larry Horsey, Hattan changed his surname sometime before 1979 to his mother's maiden name, Hattan, so that his children would not be teased for having the last name "Horsey." Hattan died in December 2022.

Sources: Articles in the Oregonian, 1969-1973; information supplied by Laura Horsey, Hattan's sister-in-law.