Earl Luvern Larison arrived a bit early in the world on July 6, 1928, to the proud parents of Claud Hammitt and Selma Emelia (Danielson) Larison. He was born at the hospital in Hastings, Minnesota, where his parents operated a farm just outside of town. A couple of moves later, the Larison Family, which included four brothers (Earl, Dean, Darril & Claud Jr.) and one sister (Fern), arrived in Early, Iowa, which became the family home in 1940. Earl enjoyed participating in sports throughout all of his school years, as did all the Larison children, however, as it turns out, music was “Dad’s” strongest life-long passion. And although he only briefly spent time with the trombone, he enjoyed listening, singing along with and dancing with his wife, Marlene, to music whenever he had the chance.Earl entered the United States Air Force and served during the Korean War, during which time he discovered his love for the southwestern region of the United States. He later commented that he wasn’t exactly sure how he would do it, but he knew that he wanted to spend his retirement years with Marlene in the warmth of the Arizona sunshine during the winter months. And, for 20+ years, that is what Earl and Marlene did.
After serving his country and in 1953, Earl and Marlene were united in a wonderful marriage that lasted 60 years. After their wedding at Zion Lutheran Church in Auburn, Iowa, Earl and Marlene traveled to Colorado to enjoy a relaxing honeymoon, after which they began their life together in Storm Lake, Iowa, sharing an apartment by the lake. In 1955, Earl and Marlene broke ground at 1009 Seneca (Storm Lake), and with the help of friends and Earl’s father, Claud, built what would become their family home for 40 years. After three years of enjoying life as a married couple, Earl and Marlene began their family, which included: Denise Marie Larison (Husband, Todd), of Victoria, MN, Major David Allen Larison (Wife, Wendy), of Cedar Rapids, IA, Douglas Earl Larison, of Minneapolis, MN, and DeAnn Marlene Lockett (Husband, Dean), of Omaha, NE.
When Earl began working at Kingan’s in Storm Lake in 1948, he had no idea that one day he would be President and Manager of Storm Lake’s credit union which had its humble beginnings by employee word-of-mouth and soon thereafter, in the basement of Earl and Marlene’s home on Seneca Street. Earl, along with others, recognized the need for a credit union which was established in 1968 by people working at Hygrade. And since Earl had been a Kingan-Hygrade employee since 1948, he was “volunteered” to serve on the Credit Union Board of Directors. The credit union grew quickly and within a few years, moved from the basement of Earl and Marlene’s home to an office across from Hygrade and ultimately, to a building across from the high school in Storm Lake. The credit union continued to grow and Earl served as a regional and national representative in CUNA and was very instrumental in driving the Credit Union Movement. Wife Marlene was his full-time work companion and served as Vice President and Assistant Manager until their retirement in 1989. Earl announced their retirement and informed his wife that he wanted to ‘show her a good time’ and enjoy their time together. Earl had many hobbies and interests and remained very active throughout his retirement years. Typically, he had his eye on the ball, be it golf, bowling or playing pool and on his 60th Birthday, he played 18 holes of golf in the morning and slalom water-skied after an afternoon of biking. He was also happy working on puzzles, toiling in his garden and was an avid reader. Earl loved conversation with others and always welcomed a friendly discussion about politics, economics and social issues. He also loved to build things and always seemed to have a project going.
Earl Larison, age 85, of Early, IA, passed away on Wednesday, December 4, 2013, at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, IA. He was preceded in death by his parents, Claud and Selma, his 3 brothers, Dean, Darril and Claud, Jr., sister-in-law, Marge (Dean) Larison and brother-in-law, Ed (Fern) Huntley. Earl will be dearly missed by survivors including his loving wife, Marlene, children (Denise, David, Doug and DeAnn), and 5 grandchildren: Katie Larison (Denise), Brandon and Jordan Larison (David), and Amanda Halpenny and Taylor Lockett (DeAnn). Earl is also survived by sister, Fern Huntley, Omaha, NE and his Minnesota cousins.
Earl Luvern Larison arrived a bit early in the world on July 6, 1928, to the proud parents of Claud Hammitt and Selma Emelia (Danielson) Larison. He was born at the hospital in Hastings, Minnesota, where his parents operated a farm just outside of town. A couple of moves later, the Larison Family, which included four brothers (Earl, Dean, Darril & Claud Jr.) and one sister (Fern), arrived in Early, Iowa, which became the family home in 1940. Earl enjoyed participating in sports throughout all of his school years, as did all the Larison children, however, as it turns out, music was “Dad’s” strongest life-long passion. And although he only briefly spent time with the trombone, he enjoyed listening, singing along with and dancing with his wife, Marlene, to music whenever he had the chance.Earl entered the United States Air Force and served during the Korean War, during which time he discovered his love for the southwestern region of the United States. He later commented that he wasn’t exactly sure how he would do it, but he knew that he wanted to spend his retirement years with Marlene in the warmth of the Arizona sunshine during the winter months. And, for 20+ years, that is what Earl and Marlene did.
