J. Bruce Larson, our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother, passed away on April 19, 2015, due to multi-organ failure caused by septic shock. He had his sweetheart by his side and was surrounded by his family. Bruce was born on April 21, 1940 in Ogden, Utah to Ann Clayson and John Farr Larson. Bruce grew up on Simpson Avenue in Salt Lake City where he was the oldest of 5 children. He attended East High School and the University of Utah. At East High, Bruce participated in football, basketball, and debate. He had a beautiful tenor singing voice and was a member of the A cappella Choir and the East High Boys Quartet. He also had the lead in the high school opera, Song of Norway.
As a young man, Bruce was very active in the Boy Scout program. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and was a member of the Order of the Arrow. Bruce had many interests growing up. He loved performing tricks with his yo-yo and was crowned the local Duncan Yo-Yo Champion and qualified for the citywide yo-yo championship. At the age of 12, he took up pigeon raising and maintained aquariums of tropical fish.
While attending East High, Bruce met his first wife, Chaunie Ballard, whom he married on September 21, 1959. Bruce and Chaunie had three children together. They later divorced.
On April 19, 1986, Bruce married the love of his life Rosalie Glass. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. Bruce and Rosie shared 29 wonderful years together. They were inseparable and loved spending time together cooking, fishing, traveling, and being with their family. As Bruce's health declined, Rosie was selflessly by his side every moment. Through his marriage to Rosie, he gained three more children whom he loved as his own. Bruce loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. He was always interested in all of their achievements in sports, school, music, church and life. Nobody was a greater fan of his grandchildren than Grandpa Bruce.
Bruce had a long and successful career in the retail business. He worked for Castleton's for 28 years as a store manager, buyer, and merchandise Vice President. He then worked for ZCMI. His career there included Director of the ZCMI II stores, Ogden Store Manager, and Merchandise System Administrator. Following his time at ZCMI, he became the President and COO of Mini World, a children's apparel company. Following that he worked as an Account Executive for Young Electric Sign Company for the next 10 years. During retirement, Bruce worked for six months as a consultant for the Utah Jazz retail stores.
He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He served for many years with the youth in both Scouting and the Young Men's organization. He also served on the High Council and as Bishop of the Little Cottonwood Ward. He and his wife Rosalie served together as temple workers in the Draper Temple.
Bruce loved the great outdoors. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, and could catch fish when nobody else could. He spent many years hunting and fishing with his best friend, Richard Staples. He was a member of the Rudy Duck Club and Fish Lake was one of his favorite fishing spots.
Bruce is survived by his loving wife, Rosalie; his children John Ballard (Elizabeth Whitney) Larson, Bruce McNeil (Gayle Thatcher) Larson, Jennifer (Russell) Gardner, Leslie Ann (Joel) Henning, and Christine (Jim) White; his siblings Craig (Gail) Larson, Ann (John) Bailey, Liz (Dean) Kennington, and Hatty (Terry) Brown; and his 21 grandchildren and one great-grandson. He was preceded in death by his parents, son Trey Stocking, and sister-in-law Toni Larson.
Funeral services will be held Monday, April 27, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the South Mountain 3rd Ward located at 272 E. Traversepoint Drive, Draper. A viewing will take place at Larkin Mortuary, 1950 East 10600 South, Sandy, on Sunday, April 26, from 6-8 p.m. and prior to the funeral services on Monday from 9:30-10:30 a.m.
