James Harold Larson

James H. Larson passed away on May 26, 2024, in Pensacola, Florida. James was born on May 5, 1927 to the parents of Stanley Larson, and Lillian Bruening in the small quiet village of Tinley Park, Illinois. It had one train station, known as the Home of five Indianapolis 500 race car drivers.

James attended Thornton Township High School after moving from Tinley Park, Illinois to Riverdale, Illinois. I remember the stories he would tell about how early he had to get up to work the farm before school, and the saying “We had to walk 2 or 3 miles in the snow just to make to school” was actually true. He loved playing stick ball, and tying wheels to their feet to roller skate. James had an Identical Twin named Gerald Larson, a sister Joyce and a younger sister Joan who was born to Vera when James and Gerald were 18. When he turned 18, he and his brother were drafted into the ARMY. What is unheard of, is that he and my uncle got to be in the same unit, so needless to say, they got lucky. I always loved hearing stories and looking at pictures of when he was in the ARMY, especially when they had guard duty at a gorgeous castle in Germany, but never got to go inside. Seeing the pictures of him sitting on a mountain in the Swiss Alps in Switzerland with his dog Queenie, surrounded by snow in all directions. Seeing those pictures and hearing the stories from him showed that you can find beauty in times of great sadness, and being reminded that there's always hope. When he returned , he married Betty Ward, and moved to California. There, they adopted Nadine Ann Larson and Bryan Stanley Larson.

James Larson is survived by his wife, Betty Larson, Daughter Nadine Larson, Son Bryan Larson, and Granddaughter Christa Gates and his grandson-in-law Jonathan Gates.