Lars Harald Johansen

​Lars Harald Johansen, 71, of Orlando, passed away June 26, 2018 in his home. Born February 21, 1947 in Stamsund, Vestågøy, Lofoten, Norway, to Arthur Johansen (1924-1990) and Ragnhild Hartviksen Johansen (1924-2015), he was a sailor, marine engineer, property manager, cook and investor. He was preceded in death by his sister Randi (1953-1957). He is survived by his wife Leslie, his daughter Kelsey, his son Max, his daughter Randi, and his brothers Jørn and Randolf.

​He was born in a small fishing village in the Lofoten islands of Arctic Norway in a time where the war returned men to an unforgiving land rent by occupation. His father, Arthur, joined the 10th IA Commandos in resistance to the Nazis, and often told Lars of his adventures abroad. This filled him with an incurable wanderlust​, only worsened by the remoteness of his island home. In his early childhood, he spent much time helping with family farm work and on the sea fishing. It was not always an easy childhood, though. At the age of 10, he lost his sister at when she fell into an inlet near their home. His two younger brothers were born not long after, and by the time they were old enough to read and write, Lars was already playing guitar and singing in local bands, dreaming of a life at sea. At age 17, he took up a position with the Norwegian Merchant Navy on a cargo ship out of Costanza, Romania on the Black Sea, intending perhaps never to return.

​He spent 10 years on cargo ships, making port on every continent except Antarctica and living everywhere from Costa Brava, Spain to Osaka, Japan. Eventually, he rose to the position of Chief Engineer, and gained a reputation both for working hard and playing hard. He was proud of his position, and proud of his personal appearance standards, which included distaste for tattoos. A group of shipmates once tried to tattoo his arm while he was asleep, but he woke up and forced them to stop and undo their work by using milk! It was during this early time that his daughter Randi was born.

​Eventually, he left the cargo ships to pursue other opportunities, working on a cruise ship as a deck officer and later as a guide. It was in this latter position that he met his eventual wife, Leslie, who was in the same profession at the time.

​They settled in New York and married in 1984. Lars moved into property management and at one point managed over a thousand apartments across nine buildings as well as some of the most prestigious residential buildings on Fifth and Park Avenues. His first son, Max, was born in 1987, and the family moved to Riverdale, the Bronx, shortly after the birth of his daughter Kelsey in 1989. The family moved to Delray Beach in 1993 in order to be closer to Leslie’s relatives, and from there to Boca Raton, and finally to Orlando after Max graduated college. Due to Kelsey’s disabilities, Lars had to stay home to take care of her a significant portion of the day, which limited his options for employment. He moved into telesales and investment and did reasonably well over about a decade of various different positions.

​His true passion in life was making delicious food, a skill he honed over fifty years. Leslie has often said, “He was adventurous and bold. He had a natural understanding of how flavors interacted with each other, and how to build a dish piece by piece.” He kept a diary of recipes that stretched over 25 years and included some of his favorites like lamb chops and alioli, mussels Leslie, and cassoulet. He was fond of music from the golden era of soul and R&B, especially James Brown, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Elvis. But he enjoyed music of all types, from Paco de Lucia to Dolly Parton, and loved to sing and play guitar. He was a fantastic raconteur, a stubborn opponent in debates, and a student of history, although especially in his later years he had difficultly embracing new technologies.

​Lars was a complicated man who, in many ways, was determined to be the master of his own fate, no matter what that entailed. He was a caring, engaged, and loving husband and father, though, and he will be missed.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Family Funeral Care in Orlando, Florida. A memorial service will be held at 3 PM on Saturday, June 30 at Family Funeral Care, followed by an open house at Lars and Leslie’s residence. Condolences may be offered at www.familycareorlando.com.