Lars H. Karlson

Lars H. Karlson, age 83, of Broomfield, Colorado, formerly of Banner County, died Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at Garden Terrace Care Center in Aurora, Colorado. A memorial service will be 2:00 P.M., Tuesday, March 14, 2006, at Salem Congregational Church in Scottsbluff with Pastor Doug Rupp officiating. Inurnment will be in Sunset Memorial Park at Scottsbluff. Dugan-Kramer Funeral Chapel and Cremation Services is in charge of the arrangements. Lars was born September 30, 1922, in Nordandan, Kvaggeshytton, Kristenehamn, Sweden to Franz Oskav and Esther (Karlsson) Karlsson. Lars grew up on a farm in Sweden with his eight brothers and sisters. His mother died when he was 12 years old. When he was 13 years old the family circumstances required that he terminate his formal education to go to work in the brick factory 10 hours a day for U.S. equivalent of $1.50 per day while working as a laborer at his Karls Kuga Plant. Lars injured his back in a fall down an elevator shaft resulting in hospitalization of 10 days. He returned to work 3 weeks later. Lars continued employment of the brick factory until he as 20 years old. In 1941, he entered the Swedish Army. He was stationed at the extreme Northern Border of Sweden and Norway to protect the Swedish border following Germany’s occupation of Norway. He was involved in searching trains for contraband and patrolling the border to prevent German incursions into Sweden. Lars says there were a number of German soldiers who crossed the border seeking asylum in Sweden. Lars was close enough to the Artic Circle during this assignment that the sun never set in summer and never rose in winter. He was also involved in laying minefields on the border to deter enemy advances across the border. Lars was honorably discharged form the Swedish Army in 1943, and went to work for a logging company where he worked as a trucker, driving large logging trucks and on the river barges moving logs to sawmills. The trip down stream took one week. All crewmembers were responsible for bringing their own food. There were no toilet facilities. For recreation crewmembers dived overboard for a swim. In 1946, Lars’ father passed away and shortly thereafter, in 1947, Lars’ aunt and uncle Hilda and Oscar Redeen, who had a farm about 13 miles northeast of Potter wrote to Sweden requesting someone to come help run the farm because of Oscar’s failing health. Lars and his cousin Nils Johnsson thought that going to America would be a grand adventure and it took until June 1949 for arrangements could be made for them to immigrate. They first traveled to Chicago to visit relatives Richard Carlson, the boy’s uncle. Lars remembers the heat of Chicago and thinking “I thought we come to America, but I think we come to Hell!” After a brief stay in Chicago Lars and Nils were taken by car to Potter by another uncle, Hilmer Carlson. After Oscar Redeen was back on his feet in 1951, Lars went to work for Joe Larson on is farm in Banner County. In 1952, Lars embarked on another adventure, following the wheat harvest with Kenneth Wickstrom, cutting wheat for Frederick, Oklahoma to the Canadian border. Lars returned to manage the Redeen farm after the death of Oscar, where he remained until his marriage to Alice (Johnsson) Larson in January 29, 1956, at the Methodist Church in Potter. Lars and Alice lived in Sidney following their wedding and Lars continued farming for Hilda Redeen and working construction of Olsen Construction Company. Their only daughter, Lynnelle was born on August 19, 1957. In October 1957, Lars moved his family to the farm in Kirk Community in Banner County, located about 19 miles southeast of Harrisburg. The family remained on the farm until October of 1988, when he and Alice moved to Scottsbluff. Alice passed away in January 2003 and Lars moved to Broomfield, Colorado to live with his daughter, Lynnelle. Lars was a member of Salem Congregational Church, Scottsbluff and a lifetime member of the Scottsbluff Elks Lodge. Survivors include his son, Milton Larson of Charleston, South Carolina; daughter, Lynnelle Mundt of Broomfield, Colorado; grandchildren, Heather Larson Pulley, Kyle Larson, Kirk Larson all of Fort Collins, Colorado, Halley Larson of Noti, Oregon and Justin Mundt of Broomfield, Colorado; great-grandchildren, Madison Larson, Emma Larson, Max Pulley and Sophia Larson; siblings, Lisa Petersen of Son, Norway and Klas Karlson of Medvorgaratan, Degerfors, Sweden. His parents; his wife; and siblings, Marta Gustavsson, Gota Gustavsson, Erik Karlsson, Sven Karlsson, Gosta Karlsson, Mag Ryberg, preceded him in death.