Obituary
David ” Dave” R. Larson
David Russell Larson, 65, of Onalaska, Wisconsin, passed away Wednesday, September 21, at his home. He was born July 24, 1957, to Arleigh and Jean Larson of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He spent part of his childhood in Stamford, Connecticut, before returning to Manitowoc and graduating from Lincoln High School in 1975. He married Terri Lynn Gauthier in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on June 14, 1980.
Dave earned his B.A. in Radio, TV and Film from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and spent the majority of his career at Ovation Marketing in La Crosse, Wisconsin. More recently, he worked at Kaplan Professional Education, followed by the La Crosse Media Group.
Dave loved spending time with his wife, children and extended family at the Larson family cottage in Wautoma, Wisconsin. Dave enjoyed waterskiing, sailing, canoeing and swimming at Silver Lake. When Dave wasn’t at the cottage, he was on his boat – the Chili Bean and later the G-Force – on the Mississippi River, often enjoying weekend boat trips to Trempealeau, Wisconsin, or spending the day at Crater Island.
Dave had a competitive and adventurous spirit. He trained for and participated in numerous triathlons throughout the state, and also completed the Green Bay Marathon and Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. In his youth, he hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail and enjoyed skiing in the mountains of Colorado and New England.
His other hobbies included geocaching, coin and stamp collecting, photography and card games with friends, among others. He loved music, especially the Counting Crows, Harry Chapin, Yes and The Who. Above all, he was a passionate Green Bay Packers fan. He was a proud owner, season-ticket holder, and attended many games at Lambeau Field over the years. He was an animal-lover. His dogs throughout his life – Peaches, Taffy, Gracie, Emery and Stella, and a few litters of puppies – were very dear to him.
Dave was active in his community. For many years, he was a member of the Sports Car Club of La Crosse and the Wisconsin Sports Car Club, participating in numerous road rallies, often taking home a first-place trophy, and is remembered as an extremely talented rallymaster. He had also served as the announcer for the River City Water Ski Show Team at the weekly ski shows, Riverfest and the Wisconsin State Waterski Show Championships.
Dave was a dedicated father, husband and brother. He is remembered by his family for his kindness and creativity. He never missed the opportunity to share his favorite quote from Back to the Future, “…Your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.”
Dave is survived by his two children and their spouses, Kristin (Gürkan) Çapkın of Burlingame, California, and Jared (Katie) Larson of River Forest, Illinois, and his grandchildren, Oya Çapkın, Teoman Çapkın, Jack Larson and Graham Larson. He is further survived by his siblings, Frank (Kathy) Larson and Ellen (Richard Shinnick) Larson, and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Terri Larson, his parents, Arleigh and Jean Larson, and his brother, Don Larson.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Dave at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 19, at First Congregational Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Friends and family are invited to join for a gathering after the service.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Newcomb Spoor Park Association. Mailing address: Bob Merriam, Treasurer, Newcomb Spoor Park Association, Inc., 485 Hawthorne Street, Neenah, WI 54956.
We have known Dave and his family for many years. Dave was always so proud of his children, Kristin and Jared.
We played many great Sheepshead games together. Rest In Peace, Dave.
Dave was a good man, kind in nature. earthy, and fiercely loyal to his family and friends. Those who knew him
casually would describe him as quiet and unassuming. Those who had the good fortune of knowing him well would say he had a dry and self-effacing sense of humor — he never took himself too seriously and rarely uttered a bad word about anyone. Emphasize “rarely.” He had his marks. The finish line is behind you, old friend, and you’ve captured another and most-important first-place trophy — the fond memories of those you leave behind. See you later, Cary
I tag on to Cary’s comments to say that one of Dave’s coworkers was my dearly departed wife Mary. I remember that she always spoke very highly of Dave. My condolences to all.
Thoughts and prayers to the family of the Larson’s. Dave and Terri were great neighbors over the past five years. Rip Dave.
Cary Heyer said it beautifully. Alot of men are described as nice guys, but Dave really was. If you needed something, he give it to you. He was fun to be around and to laugh with. We spent many days with Terri and Dave at their cabin, playing cards, telling jokes, and listening to the loons. Dave always said they were laughing at our jokes. Probably just his! We miss you, our old friends and wish God’s blessings on those you leave behind. Dorothy and Shep
I grew up with Dave and his family in Manitowoc WI. Our houses were back yards to each other. We spent a lot of time together playing, skating but the memory I remember best was our argument…. Who was the best band??? Dane said the Beatles were the best , I was a Dave Clark Five fan!!
We’ll I guess now I’ll agree with him.
RIP Dave, a really nice kid ?
Dave laughed easily and loved life. I met Dave when I interned and then hired on at Hutson Advertising right out of college. We had a fun, motley group and Dave and I hit it off right away. He had a couple years on me in navigating and spoofing the characters and sometimes dysfunction of the local advertising community. Dave was fun and never took himself too seriously, but he was absolutely dedicated to his craft and his clients. Dave introduced me to road rallying. We were a team for awhile; Dave was the Navigator and I was his Driver. Dave didn’t use a fancy in-dash, whiz-bang rally computer, he made all his calculations with pencil & paper and a pocket calculator. Man, that was a rush. We had a lot of fun and did pretty well, but we never won anything. We joked that we were like the Green Bay Packers of the 80s: “We were better than our record indicated.” Dave and I talked a lot about music: (rock and obscure Wisconsin bands), our Green Bay Packers, and the Mississippi River – I was working part-time on the Island Girl and Dave & Terri were always out on the modest Chili Bean or the sleeker G-Force, but I think he spent more time on the river than I did. I always think of Dave as I drive through Wautoma and past Silver Lake & Silvercryst Supper Club. I wish I could be there with y’all for Dave’s Celebration of Life. I wish I could see Dave laugh until he cried again. Godspeed Dave Larson, I will miss you old friend. – Carl Henry