Eulogy

The following is the eulogy that Lars' brother Nels gave at his viewing on June 11th...

Lars Christian Larsen was born on April 17,1967 in San Jose, California. Lars enjoyed childhood to its fullest. Lars swam and played water polo competitively, enjoyed the company of his friends, and always made the best of any situation. Lars always found the right moment to make those around him laugh.

In high school, Lars was always the center of attention, just as he finds himself again today. From wearing ridiculous Hawaiian shirts to school everyday and finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, Lars always made those around him smile and laugh. Lars went on to San Jose State University where he was able to find 30,000 more people to entertain. Lars spent his college years studying advertising, life guarding at the San Jose State swim pool, working at Raging Waters Waterslide Park, and the Athletes Foot shoe store.

In Lars’ life of leisure he became friends with so many different people. His energy, smile, and complete zaniness always drew people to him. Lars was kind to everyone. It never mattered who you were…if you could handle Lars; he would be your friend. Lars earned a degree in advertising from San Jose State. After college, Lars decided he liked school so much; he would try it in another state.

Ohio became the new home for Lars. Lars attended The Ohio State University and pursued his dream of becoming a dentist. Dr. Lars Larsen graduated from The Ohio State Dental School in 2000. Lars made the state of Ohio and all of its residents his new friends. While attending Ohio State, Lars met his equal. We all know her as Monica. Lars finally found someone who could handle him 24 hours a day and they married.

Lars and Monica moved to Central Michigan where Lars practiced dentistry. In, August of 2001 Savannah Larsen was born. In March of 2004, Lars’ second daughter Sorina was born. Lars was able to do what few people in this world could. He was able to live with three girls. Those girls were the light of Lars’ life. Lars would do anything to make those girls happy and smile everyday. Lars and his family moved back to Ohio and he began to practice at Whetstone Dentistry in Ohio. While practicing dentistry, Lars was able to meet and interact with so many people. He made going to the dentist fun.

People loved to come and see Doctor Lars and he loved people in return. Everyone left Whetstone Dentistry with a smile on their face after seeing Lars. That is just the kind of man he was. Lars and Monica settled down in Lewis Center, Ohio and Lars grew to enjoy his suburban life.

In September of 2005, Lars was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Lymphoma and went into remission eight months later. In September of 2006, Lars was diagnosed with ALL and AML Leukemia. Lars began the greatest fight of his life. With the love and support of so many people, Lars was able to fight and battle Leukemia like no other person could. You often hear when people pass from cancer that they were fighters, but Lars was different in that he gave the ultimate sacrifice to try to get well. The most difficult part of this illness was leaving the girls behind to be treated in Houston, Texas. Only Monica could really understand the anguish Lars faced in making such a decision. Such a sacrifice is made only by people with real courage and inner strength. Many of us will never understand the emotional and physical suffering Lars endured trying to get well.

To say Lars got a tough break would be an understatement. Although leukemia took his life, nothing took his spirit. Until the very end Lars had an opinion whether we liked it or not and he was able to get a few final insults in to some deserving medical staff before leaving us. Most importantly, everyone should know how much Lars loved the girls. To leave you all with a loving memory of him, the night before he passed the family was at the hospital and the girls had blown the latex gloves up as balloons. Lars was nearly unconscious but would hit the balloons back to the girls as much as he was able to play with them one last time. We should all be so lucky to have a dad like that.

Lars lost his battle with Leukemia on June 7, but he left this earth with so much more happiness and love than most people ever get a chance at. Lars was able to be finally at home when he passed with his family hovering over him driving him crazy one last time. We all take great comfort knowing he was able to be with us and his X box in the same room when his spirit left. There are a few things Lars would like us to learn from his experience and the main one is to appreciate your spouse and children. Lars knew that Monica was the person keeping him going through this difficult ordeal and she was always there for him and took exceptional care of him. You have Monica to thank for your extra time with Lars and he would want us to all be thankful to her.

Lars will be missed, but never forgotten. His energy, humor, integrity, and zest for life were contagious and will live on through so many of us that he was able to meet, know, and love. He left the best of him behind with his precious daughters, Savannah and Sorina. Finally, Lars is so thankful for all the love, support and sacrifice of his family and many friends gave during his illness. He was truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love he received. Although he will be missed by so many of us as the days and years roll on, he would want us to enjoy life to the fullest and always take the high road with one another.

Goodbye for now Lars, we love you and you will always be with us in our hearts.