Howard Lee LARSON

LARSON, REDPATH, BURKE, SEBBER, COTANT, SWANSTROM

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 12/22/2009 at 10:01:48

December 20, 2009
Fort Dodge Messenger, Iowa

Howard L. Larson, 82, passed away on December 17, 2009, after a year long battle with lymphoma. Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 21st at 11:00 a.m. at St. Olaf Lutheran Church with the Rev. David Grinberg officiating. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home.

Howard is survived by his wife of 51 years, Peggy (Burke) Larson of Fort Dodge; daughter, Sigrid (Dave) Redpath of Edina, MN; sons, Howard T. (Sue) Larson and Ed (Shauna) Larson both of Fort Dodge; grandchildren, Matt, Liv, Elijah, Nick, Kjell, Alex, and Rebecca; a brother, James A. Larson of Tampa, FL. He was preceded in death by his parents, Howard Nicoli Larson and Mildred (Sebber) Larson; and a sister, Mrs. Byron (Margaret) Cotant.

Howard Lee Larson was born on June 2, 1927, in Morris, MN. In February 1941, his family moved to Clarion, IA, before settling in Fort Dodge. He attended Fort Dodge Schools and graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School in 1945. After graduation Howard enlisted in the U.S. Navy, finishing boot camp just VJ Day occurred in August of 1945. He served in Japan during the Allied Occupation as a Navy Corpsman. After his honorable discharge he attended Fort Dodge Junior College for one year, and then transferred to Drake University and graduated with a B.A. in Business in 1952. Howard was adventurous and traveled through Europe with 2 friends for the summer of 1952. He then took a job with Continental Oil Services, traveling throughout the Midwest. A few years later he began his employment with his father's firm, Larson-Swanstrom Company, a farm implement wholesaler. He worked first in the warehouse, and later as a salesman, covering a sales territory of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and the Dakotas. On July 5, 1958, he married Peggy Burke at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, and they made their home in Fort Dodge. After the death of his father in 1968, Howard joined Chuck Swanstrom as part owner in Larson-Swanstrom, and remained with the company until his retirement in 1990. Howard was an avid outdoorsman, and thoroughly enjoyed hunting (deer, moose, elk, squirrel, pheasants) and fishing. He took many hunting trips in the western U.S., and fishing excursions to Canada and northern Minnesota. He also loved seeing the world, visiting China in 1981 with People to People. After retiring, Howard traveled to Poland with Elderhostel in 1991 and 1996 to teach English, and toured Alaska in 2008. Howard was a member of St. Olaf Lutheran Church and enjoyed many activities with the Fort Dodge Area Gardeners. He also belonged to Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, and the N.R.A. Howard was a wonderful husband and father, and enjoyed many happy hours with his family and his grandchildren. He will be greatly missed.