Larry Larson Hometown: Battle Lake, MN Current Home: Clitherall, MN Major: English, Math Additional Education: MBA, Pepperdine University, SOS and National War College Email: larrydlarson45@gmail.com Following graduation, OTS in San Antonio was first stop. After a “90-day wonder” adventure, new USAF 2nd Lt. flew to North Dakota to marry Joanne Flaa (’67). After six years, Joanne gave birth to fraternal twins. Jennifer is a bilingual special-ed teacher at Fort Rucker near Enterprise, Alabama (two granddaughters). Christopher is USAF Colonel at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, in command of the world-wide fleet of stealth drones (three granddaughters). After three+ decades, Joanne & Larry decided we were better friends than roommates and parted company. We remain good friends. Ten years ago, Barbara Taketa got my attention, and we married. A fourth generation Japanese-American, she was born in a California detention camp. Her family went to Japan for eight years following WWII. Barbara is fluent in Japanese language and customs. She won a Disney talent contest (singing) in her teens and has been giving song and dance performances for 55+ years. Barbara retired, and we moved to Minnesota in 2010 in order to help care for my mom. Mom has since died; we’ve decided to live awhile in our Minnesota lake home. It is only six miles from my childhood farm, so it’s back home for me and a culture shock for Barbara. We travel a lot. My military career included assignments in nine states and Belgium. After 11 moves in 13 years, we left active duty behind for California. I transferred to the USAF Reserves, retiring as a Colonel. Jobs included two years with my own consulting firm and ten years as an aerospace employee and consultant. Highlight: manager of integration for development of the B-2 Stealth bomber at Northrop. I got an MBA from Pepperdine and CFP (Certified Financial Planner) credentials and spent 25 years as a financial planner and RIA. I sold my practice in 2013 and retired. Top memory (excluding wives and kids): taking Joanne, my parents and 16-year-old twins for a Christmas trip to Europe. An old friend closed his restaurant in a small Belgian town in the Ardennes on Christmas Eve, and we ate and drank our way through a four-hour, nine-course meal, then walked across the street for a midnight mass in French. Christmas morn: a two-hour drive through the Ardennes in 6'' of new snow to a village we had lived in, for lunch with our old landlord. The bar owner across the street showed up and invited us over for a drink, and 100+ villagers surprised us and marched us through the streets to the Flemish school which the kids had attended for three years. My eyes are wet.
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