Larson, Gary K (1937-2017)

LARSON, WISE, EMMONS, MCDONALD

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 12/15/2017 at 14:56:39

Gary K Larson
December 20, 1937 - November 28, 2017

Gary K. Larson, 79, passed away on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He remained independent in the care of his wife, Charlotte, until December 2013 when he willingly moved into the Windsor Manor Alzheimer's Unit in Algona. He spent the last three years, however, in the loving care of the West Bend Care Center.

Gary was born to Richard and Naomi Larson at the Irish Hospital in Forest City on December 20, 1937. He grew up on the family farm north of Crystal Lake and graduated from Forest City High School in 1955. He enjoyed square dancing and calf roping; he loved the Sons of the Pioneers and John Wayne. He had a talent for playing the accordion, but few people knew about it. As a youngster, he, also, enjoyed roller skating.

On October 4, 1959, Gary married his lifelong love, Charlotte Wise, in Wesley. They began their life together in a trailer house parked on the Larson farm in Crystal Lake. There, Gary farmed eighty acres and raised hogs. In the next few years, they would rent a house and land near Thompson and another near Britt. In the fall of 1966, however, they bought their dream home and farm three miles northwest of Rake. Now, Gary had 180 acres on which to raise hogs and cattle and otherwise farm. He and Charlotte resided on this farm from 1966 until 1991 while raising two children (Lisa and Ryan). Gary took immense pride in his farm and his family and cared for both with meticulous detail. During the off season, he occupied his time with too many odd jobs to count to make ends meet.

After the death of their only son Ryan in 1990, Gary and Charlotte moved to Lander, Wyoming, for ten years. Once there, Gary bought and ran cattle on his small ranch near the Wind River Mountains and worked as a hunting guide for Skips Outfitting in Lander. In 2003, however, they returned to Iowa, building their retirement home near Call Park in Algona.

Gary belonged to the Algona Masonic Lodge, the Eastern Star, the Buffalo Center and Algona United Methodist Churches as well as the National Rifle Association and the Iowa Pork Producers. As a young man, Gary was honored, along with his father, Richard, by the Governor of Iowa for saving the life of a Crystal Lake man who was drowning. Gary loved hunting, fishing, woodworking, and talking with friends. Moreover, he appreciated country music and taught both of his kids to sing. In addition, he had a hidden talent for writing cowboy poetry. Most at home in the mountains of Wyoming, he felt free there riding his horse, raising cattle, and working as a hunting and fishing guide with his pack of horses in God's beautiful western wilderness.

Gary was often referred to as "cowboy" because of his handlebar mustache, cowboy hat, his boots that stood out in a crowd, and his no nonsense attitude. His close friends and family saw his country persona as entirely fitting because he had a heart as big as Texas, and he, clearly, loved his family more than life itself under the Wyoming sky.

Gary is survived by his lifelong love and wife of fifty-eight years, Charlotte; his daughter, Lisa Larson Emmons, and her husband, Ted, of Gillette, Wyoming; two grandsons, Colter McDonald, and his wife, Ani, of Custer, South Dakota, and Steve McDonald, of Houston, Texas. Gary was preceded in death by his parents; his oldest daughter Dawn Marie; and his only son, Ryan Gary Larson.

A funeral service will be held Saturday [December 2, 2017], at 9:00 AM at the First United Methodist Church in Algona. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 7:00 PM on Friday [December 1, 2017], at the Oakcrest Funeral Services of Algona. An Order of Eastern Star service take place beginning at 4:00 PM and a Masonic Service at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue for one hour before the service at the church on Saturday [December 2, 2017].

Oakcrest Funeral Services ~ Algona, Iowa, 2017.

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