Jeffrey A Larson

Jeff was born 9 July 1942 to LaVerne H and Nina Hoiness Larson in Stoughton, Wisconsin. In 1954, the family moved to Wynne, Arkansas. He obtained an appointment to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

After graduating from West Point in 1964, Jeff served in the US Army for 28 years. His diverse job assignments included: Command of the 3rd Battalion, 33rd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division in Europe; Director of Contingency Analysis at the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency; Analyst in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Studies and Analysis Gaming Agency; Military Assistant to the Deputy Undersecretary of the Army for Operations Research; Army Fellows at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and two tours as an advisor to Vietnamese Self-Defense Forces.

He received a Master’s Degree in Operations Research from the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA in 1973.

After retiring from the Army in 1992, Jeff started a second career by joining in 1993 the Test and Experimentation Services Company (TESCO), a defense contractor supporting the US Army Test and Evaluation Command (TEXCOM) at West Fort Hood. Jeff became the Program Manager for TESCO in 1999. TESCO employed as many as 900 personnel in support of the TEXCOM renamed as the US Army Operational Test Command (USAOTC) as it prepared for, executed, and reported on an average of 50 operational tests per year at sites throughout the world. In this career he conducted individual tests, managed the execution of multiple tests and orchestrated the contract support with administration, management, security, instrumentation and automotive maintenance, test planning and data management, instrumentation hardware and software development, logistics and what was necessary for successful test execution by OTC.

He retired for a second time in 2008 when TESCO’s contract ended. Jeff had nearly 22 years of experience in operational testing (including 8 years in the army) and one year as a developmental tester working for McLane Advanced Technology Company in Temple, TX.

Jeff has two sons, Keith Alan and Kurt Andrew, with his first wife Sandra Brumbalow.

In 1996, Jeff married Mary Barton who survives him. They worked for TESCO and enjoyed traveling in a series of RV’s with their rat terrier dogs.

Jeff was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Mary Jo Craver. He is survived by his wife, Mary of 27 years, his two sons, Keith and Kurt (Jennifer), two brothers, Thomas Denton and Dana Scott (D’Arcy), two grandchildren, Blake Larson and Emily Larson, and several nieces and nephews who he adored and loved.

In lieu of flowers please make a contribution to Texas Humane Heroes in Killeen or Bell County Animal Shelter.