From: Kenneth Belanus , Oct 21, 2021

Hello Kyle,

Thank you so much for sending me this. I’m Ken Belanus married to Wally and Elaine MacPhee’s daughter, Anne. We spent many happy Christmas Eves with your dad and Mary Lou. They came to Stillwater to visit us all and again to celebrate Elaine’s 80th.

I met your dad on a tense Saturday morning intervention for Wally. It was successful and resulted in seventeen years of sobriety and healthy friendships for Wally and Elaine. Your dad took special care of Wally and definitely had a big part in saving his life. On that Saturday Wally’s life expectancy was less than six months if rehab failed.

I’m a serious woodturner and woodworker and I have never met anyone I enjoyed spending twenty minutes with at a Christmas or July fourth party. We loved to share each other’s enthusiasm for our work. I have a bowl of his and he had maybe a threaded toothpick holder or some similar small scale item of mine.

Elaine also had covid in 2020 and recovered but Parkinson’s and isolation weakened her too. She died in March 2021 at 90. Wally had passed in 2007 and your dad spoke at his service.

I’m sure there are a ton of stories and lives saved from the powers of addiction by your dad’s counseling and AA participation. I’ll add me and Anne to that list. We realized we could not continue to use alcohol in front of our children and our relationship to Wally was not right if we wouldn’t support him by joining him in sobriety. As a result we avoided going further into our almost certain addictions. So thanks to all Larson’s…we found far better and healthier hobbies.

Your dad was very special. He had the gift of love and shared it with so many people. We are blessed to have known him.

Share this story as you see fit. We send our prayers for you and the family.

Be well always,
Ken and Anne Belanus
Stillwater Oklahoma

Bob Larson was a dear friend and mentor to me. I enjoyed my time with Bob and Mary Lou and learned much from them both. Condolences to his family.

Bob was my second line manager for about a year when I hired on with IBM in 1977 in Rochester, MN. I moved to several other locations, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw him again in the Dallas area, as we attended the same church.
Bob was so kind and so genuine. He was a blessing to many. I still have one of the wooden bowls he so lovingly and skillfully made out of a tree from my yard.
My condolences to the family.

Bob Larson was one of the kindest, gentlest people I have ever known. Underneath his genteel persona burned many passions for a large number of causes dear to him. Laurel and I enjoyed spending time with Bob and Mary Lou in the Dallas area and listening to Bob’s stories about his family, career, causes and his beloved Boundary Waters. We offer our deepest condolences to Kyle and the rest of Bob’s family. Rest In Peace, my friend.