Joseph F. Larson

1934 - 2022

Joe was born on December 29, 1934 to Lawrence Fagg and Pearl Larson, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Joe was his parents’ only child and was the only child of his generation on the Larson side of his family. Spending his formative years in Caddo, Texas, Joe was a proud 1952 graduate of Breckenridge High School.

 

After a years-long battle against the vagaries of dementia and congestive heart failure, Joe died on December 5, 2022, at the age of 87 in Bedford, Texas.

 

Joe is survived by Aleta,his wife of 68 years, their children, Tim, Cindy and Larry, grandchildren Joey, Sam, Hannah and Zoe, numerous extended family members and many friends and colleagues.

 

A lifelong learner, Joe earned degrees from Tarleton State College (where he was in the ROTC), Midwestern University, the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, and the Graduate Theological Foundation at Notre Dame, where he earned the Doctor of Ministry.

During his career as an ordained Minister in the United Methodist Church from 1961 to 2001, Joe served congregations in communities primarily throughout the Central Texas Conference, including Graham, Palmer, Ennis, Fort Worth, Alvarado, Wichita Falls, Temple, Georgetown, Killeen, Waco, Arlington, and Watauga. He also served on various conference-level committees.

 

Upon his retirement from the active ministry, Joe and Aleta made their home in the White Lake Hills neighborhood of east Fort Worth until their hom was destroyed by fire in December 2021.

 

Joe had a life-long love of anything on four wheels; in fact, he carried an old photo in his wallet of a Ford Model A that he and his Dad had rebuilt. Joe was a devoted fan of the Dallas Cowboys, as long as they were winning, much like many other fans of America’s Team. He was a multi-talented individual, having worked as a young man in paint contracting with his Dad, in a Ford Motor Company vehicle assembly plant in Dallas, and wrangling cattle on a west Texas ranch.

 

Celebration of Life Service will be held on Monday, December 19th at 2:00 pm at the First United Methodist Church of Hurst

521 West Pipeline Road, Hurst, TX 76053

(817) 282-7384

www.fumchurst.org

 

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to FUMC Hurst.