Darlene Maxine Larson

Darlene was born in Olathe, Kansas on May 6, 1933 to Erwin and Elsie Prothe. For 53 years, she was united in marriage to her life partner, Robert Lee Larson (1931-2008) and with whom she raised three children: Debra Cogdill of Boulder, CO, Denise Larson of Lafayette, CO, and Michael Larson of Westminster, CO. With Debra’s marriage to Charles Philip Cogdill, cherished son-in-law, Darlene became the delighted grandmother of three: Katherine, David and Matthew. With Katherine’s marriage to Gordon Fox, Darlene enjoyed years of great-grandmotherhood: Raina (8) and Naomi (5). Following the marriage of Matthew to Sophia DeVita (2023), Darlene was eagerly anticipating the arrival of her first great-grandson who is expected this fall.

Darlene is preceded in death not only by her husband Bob, but also all of her siblings (and their spouses): Milford Prothe, Janice Rothleitner, and Loren Prothe. In addition to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she is survived by nephews, nieces, cousins and a host of beloved friends, with whom she was in constant communication and interaction up until the morning she passed.

Early in their marriage, Darlene and Bob relocated from Kansas City, where they were married, to Burbank/Glendale, CA, where Bob began his career in engineering with the County of Los Angeles and Darlene made a home for the family and a welcoming haven for guests. She and Bob were active in the Lutheran Church for the entirety of their time in California as well as in Colorado during retirement. Darlene found friendship and community in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), as well as church choir, and served for decades in the production of reading material for the blind via Lutheran Braille Workers.

Darlene was beloved and will be warmly remembered for many reasons: With a gift for cultivating coziness and warmth, Darlene, throughout her adult life, opened her home to large gatherings of family and friends, spent hours chatting in person and on the phone with those in need of loving attentiveness, and studiously tracked the details of the lives of countless nieces, nephews, neighbors and friends.

In her final years, she resided in Broomfield where she developed cherished friendships with her neighbors, regularly playing card games, gathering for a Thursday happy hour she initiated and organized, and reaching out to welcome new residents, applying that same open-hearted hospitality she offered when in her own home.

Most of all, Darlene will be remembered for the increasing depth and constancy of her faith in Jesus Christ with whom she walked throughout her life, cultivating an even closer and more personal relationship in her later years.

Visitation: 10:30am to 11am Wednesday, June 3, 2026, Redeemer Lutheran Church: 2221 N. Wahsatch Ave., Colorado Springs, CO. 80907

Service: 11am Wednesday, June 3, 2026, Redeemer Lutheran Church: 2221 N. Wahsatch Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80907. Reception to follow at the church.

Internment: 2:30PM Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Evergreen Cemetery: 1005 Hancock Expressway, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

Charitable Donations (In Lieu of Flowers)

LWML: https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/lwml/ online-donation-form

Lutheran Braille Workers: https://www.lbwloveworks.org/get-involved/donate/