Ethel Florence Larson

Ethel Larson long-time resident dies

Funeral services for Ethel Florence Larson, long-time Niobrara resident, was held at the Peet Mortuary Chapel Tuesday Oct. 26, with the Rev. Frank Bozart and the Order Of The Eastern Star officiating. Mrs. Edna DeCastro, organist, accompanied Mrs. Marilyn Cockerham as she sang "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "God Will Take Care of You."

Honorary bearers were: Andrew McMaster, Herbert Sabin, Jack Parsons, Ted Lohr, Alvin Haase, Bill Miller, Jim Shane Sr., Reuben Hahn, Don Taylor and Herman Glandt.

Casket bearers were Bucky Barnette, Warren Robertson, Wes Shoults, Alfred Taylor, John Hammond, and Jim Harris. Burial was in the Lusk Cemetery. Memorials are to The Niobrara County Nursing Home Fund.

Ethel Florence Fogelman Larson was born on a farm near Hoxie, Kan., Dec. 23, 1892, the daughter of Carrie May and Jerome Gaston Fogleman. She attended school in Kansas, graduating from high school in Phillipsburg, and later attending the University of Ottawa in Kansas.

She accepted a teaching position in the school at Harrison, Neb., where she met her future husband, Anton "Tony" Edward Larson. They were married at the home of the bride's mother in Ottawa, Sept. 29, 1915. The couple made their home for many years, at the ranch they homesteaded north of Van Tassel. Three daughters, Gayle, Lucille, and Doris were born to this union.

Both of the couple pursued their teaching careers during part of their married years. She taught at various times in the Harrison school, Sunnyside School and the school at Van Tassel. Later when they bought and moved into their home in Lusk, she served as substitute teacher in Lusk schools for a number of years.

Mrs. Larson was a member of the Order of Eastern Star in Lusk, a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, and a member of the Lusk Congregational Church Circle, which church she attended for many years. She was active in many community and social activities until poor health intervened, serving for a time as Republican Committee Woman and on various other committees.

In May 1976, when extremely poor health made it no longer possible for her to continue living in her home in Lusk, Mrs. Larson made her home at the nursing wing of the Torrington hospital where she resided until her death on October 22.

She was preceded in death by one daughter, Doris Jean Taylor, in 1952, and her husband Anton in 1963. She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Rex (Lucille) Shoults, of Van Tassel, and Mrs. Gilbert (Gayle) Bernbeck of Torrington; one sister, Mrs. Edna Maselli of Fresno, Calif.; three grandchildren, Ronald Shoults of Van Tassel, Mary Jackson of Lander, and Con Bernbeck of Stanton, Nebr. and eight great- grandchildren.

"Throughout her life Mrs. Larson cherished her wide circle of friends, and these friends were faithful until the end, bringing much love and comfort to her during times of sickness and sorrow and during her last years," said the family.

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