James Larsen

James Kent Larsen was born April 9, 1938 to Arthur and Esther (Meyer) Larsen in Tyler, Minnesota. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church and later confirmed at First English Lutheran Church, both in Tyler. He grew up in town and graduated from Tyler High School in 1956, having been president of the senior class. He continued his education in Brookings, South Dakota and Granite Falls, Minnesota and started farming near Balaton, Minnesota. On December 3, 1966 Jim married Shirley Larsen at St. Stephens Lutheran Church in Marshall. Their union was blessed with 50 years of life together. The couple farmed near Balaton. Shortly after retiring from farming in 1985 they moved to the Twin Cities and worked in management and maintenance of apartment and condominium complexes. They owned and operated Big Pine Resort in Perham, Minnesota for a time, and then moved back to Balaton where Jim worked for Tholens in Marshall, and owned and operated the Balaton Small Mall. In 2003 they moved to Park Rapids, Minnesota. Jim worked at WalMart until retiring completely. On Saturday, February 25, 2017 at the Heritage Living Center in Park Rapids, Jim died peacefully at the age of 78 years.

Jim was a member of Sillerud Lutheran Church of rural Balaton and had served on the Church Council. He also served on the boards of Lyon-Lincoln Electric Co-op and Lyon County Pork Producers. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, working puzzles, playing cards, gardening, and time spent with the family.

Jim is lovingly remembered by his wife, Shirley of Park Rapids, MN; their children, Johnna Larsen of Springfield, IL, Donna DeBettinges of Houston, TX, Mark Larsen of Minnetonka, MN, Suzann (Dion) Pederson of Park Rapids, MN, and Wendy (Brent) Tufto of Lake City, MN; a daughter of the heart, Jeanine Levy of St. Louis Park, MN; 13 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Connie Johnson.