Dorothy E. Larson

Funeral Services for Dorothy E. Larson, 94, a former Wakefield resident, will be held on September 29, 2009 at 10:00 A.M. at the Wakefield Presbyterian Church; Pastor Charity Potter will be officiating. The visitation will be for an hour prior to the funeral service. Burial will be in the Wakefield Cemetery. Dorothy was born March 28, 1915 in Plainview, NE, the daughter of Jessie Neff Coe and Dr. Charles Coe. She died September 25, 2009 at Morningside House, near her son’s home in Columbia, MD. Dorothy spent most of her life in Wakefield. She received a teaching certificate from Midland College and taught kindergarten/first grade in Bancroft and Wausau, NE. On June 26, 1938, she married Wakefield Attorney, Harry N. Larson. Dorothy was a loving wife and mother and monitored the care of her parents in their later years. She took special interest in the lives and activities of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and spent many happy times with them in California, Denver, and Maryland. After raising her family, Dorothy went to Wayne State, earned her BA, and taught in Wakefield’s elementary school. In 1986, they began wintering in Palm Desert, CA and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary shortly before Harry’s death in 1988. On November 14, 1992, she married T.A. Larson, Harry’s younger brother, a retired history professor at the University of Wyoming. They resided in Laramie, WY. Dorothy loved to drive. Between marriages, she drove alone to California. Once she described returning to Laramie via Interstate 80 during a blizzard. “The roads were so bad, (just when we expected her to say they spent two days in a motel to wait out the storm) she said, “I had to drive really fast to stay ahead of the trucks.” Dorothy had many varied interests. She loved music and played the piano for her own children and her elementary school students. She made sure her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren took piano lessons resulting in at least one musical scholarship. She maintained a large vegetable and flower garden with many roses, and 100 varieties of iris that she loved to show to visitors from all parts of Nebraska. Her cooking, especially breads, rolls, and cookies were treasured by her family. For many years she made a Swedish dinner with potato skor, bruna bonor, and lutefisk during the Christmas holidays. When Harry retired, they both learned to play golf at the local Wakefield course, in Sioux City, and in California. She was a lifelong learner with a great appreciation for reading and music. Active in a Wakefield book club, she enjoyed authors who wrote about Nebraska including Maria Santos, author of “Crazy Horse, and John Niehardt, author of “Black Elk Speaks.” She also finished “War and Peace.” In Wyoming she became a minor expert on Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail. She was a lifelong member of PEO and the Wakefield Presbyterian Church, where she played the piano, taught Sunday school, and was Sunday School director. She was a worthy matron of the Eastern Star; member of the DAR, and qualified for the Mayflower Society. Upon TA’s death in 2001, Dorothy spent much of her time visiting her son, William (and Kathy) Larson, in Columbia, MD, and her daughter, (Mike and) Barbara Hehn, in Fountain Valley, CA. Besides her son and daughter, survivors include two grandchildren, Steve (and Lucia) Coates of Lynchburg, VA and (David and) Virginia Vanderhyde of St Louis, MO, six great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sister, Ruth Coe Parkert, and brother, Dr Max Coe, both Wakefield residents, as well as 2 brothers, Weldon and Lloyd.. Memorials may be sent to the Wakefield’s Presbyterian Church or the American Cancer Society.