Rob Larson, Dawson, died Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at his home in Dawson at the age of 63.
Memorial services will be held on Friday, December 9, 2016 at 1:00 PM at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson with Rev. Kendall Stelter officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church on Friday.
Robert Scott Larson was born in Dawson to Raymond and Selma (Wold) Larson on July 22, 1953. He grew up in Dawson and attended school in Dawson, graduating in 1971. Rob worked at AMPI in Dawson for over 30 years and enjoyed working side by side with so many of his local friends. Rob would have described his years at AMPI as “bittersweet” but he was fiercely loyal to the plant and was sad to see it close. After AMPI, he decided to get a part-time job at Dawson Public Schools as a custodian. He planned on his custodial work being temporary and simply a way to pass the time until he could retire permanently, however, he soon fell in love with the students and faculty at the school. Frequent phone calls between him and his children, Robyn and Josh, would be consumed by Rob’s tales of his adventures attending to the grounds of the school and the athletic facilities. Rob had three grandchildren and he loved them immensely, his thick checkbook overflowing with their photos, alongside photos of his grand-nieces and nephews from Dawson, who he enjoyed seeing around the halls of the elementary school. Rob always looked forward to spending time with his daughter, Robyn, at her lake cabin on Lake Minnewaska. He was especially proud of his son, Josh, who has been a United States Marine for almost 18 years and holds the rank of captain.
Many people around town will remember Rob as the old man tooling around Dawson all alone on one of his Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycles. He loved Harley Davidsons. Many a motorcycle-riding stranger rolled into the Casey’s gas station to get gas on the way to or from the Sturgis motorcycle rally and would get intercepted by a casual remark from Rob. “Nice bike,” Rob would say, and after a conversation about all things Harley Davidson, the motorcycle rider would leave Dawson with a new friend. Rob also enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman, usually found on a river’s edge somewhere just outside Dawson or walking through the brush at Rick Hersom’s farm. Sometimes, he wouldn’t even bring a gun or a fishing pole but would simply sit somewhere, a camera or video recorder by his side, capturing the natural beauty of the rural countryside outside Dawson.
But most of all, Rob loved his art. He was an accomplished artist, and spent most of his days sitting in front of his easel with a half-dozen tubes of oil paint or at his kitchen table with a #2 pencil and a sketch pad, his only accomplice a large mug of thick, black coffee and a Minnesota Twins baseball game in the background. But Rob wasn’t motivated by the prospect of finding his art in big-city art galleries—his pride came from giving his art away to his family and friends in the Dawson area. Many a local home is decorated by one of Rob’s original oil paintings on their wall. Rob even surprised the local Dawson library with one of his original oil paintings in honor of its renovation in the late 1990s. Recently, he gave original art to students at the school. Rob was the definition of a “giver,” the type of man who would truly give you the shirt off his back. In fact, Rob has given more than one vehicle away to someone, free of charge, because that person needed it more than he did.
Perhaps most notable, Rob loved Dawson. On numerous occasions, his children tried to pull him away from his hometown, his son, Josh, many times offering to welcome him to whichever place across America he was calling home at the time. But not even the love of his children could pull Rob away from Dawson.
Rob was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson. He had a spiritual faith that was strong, but very personal, although he often talked about his relationship with God to his family. Rob is survived by his children, Robyn (Andy) Abner of Benson and Joshua Larson of Beaufort, SC; three grandchildren: Gunnar, Isabelle, and Gabe; a sister, Sharon (Rick) Hersom of Dawson; a brother, Mike (Loretta) Larson of Dawson, and many nieces, nephews and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his twin granddaughters, Eliza and Julia Abner.