Mathew Eric Larsen was born at the family home on 31 July 1919 at Rigby, Jefferson, Idaho. He was 3rd of the eight children born to Ephraim and Irene Pearl Call Larsen. Siblings: Calvin Ephraim Larsen (1916-1992), Thama [Larsen] Pugmire/Brown (1917-1997), Ross Call Larsen (1922-1997), Dorothy [Larsen] Rowland (1924-2013), Ardith Larsen (1926-1928) DeEsta [Larsen] Windley/Rousey (1928-2020) and Shirley [Larsen] Salvesen (1931-2020) He received a baby blessing and his name entered on the records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on 7 September 1919. Blessing was given by Bishop Omer Samuel Cordon, a 1st cousin to his mother. Mathew's parents purchased land from Irene's father, Omer Samuel Call, and they built a home for their family. For a few years, Mathew was able to live in close proximity to his maternal grandparents, Omer & Annie Call. In April of 1920, he traveled with his parents and siblings to Logan, Utah and the family was sealed together in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple. The family moved to Ririe, Idaho in 1925, where his father Ephraim opened up his own barber shop. Mathew grew up and attended schools in this small town. He was a good student and active in sports. Mathew enjoyed living in Ririe and the "Winter Carnivals" were his favorite. It was not uncommon to see Matt being pulled by a rope behind a fast running horse to attain the speed that he would need to negotiate a high jump. He learned to work hard helping his parents around their home and garden and his father installed a shoe-shine chair in his barber shop so that his sons could earn a little money of their own. Mathew was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by his great-uncle George A. Cordon on 29 October 1927. He was confirmed as a member of the church on Sunday, 6 November 1927 by William P. Fullmer. Shortly after Matt started his Junior year in high school, he and a friend, Herk Christensen, decided that they would back-pack into the upper-regions of the Snake River Valley to hunt for elk or deer to help subsidize the family's winter food storage. The young men were successful in each getting an elk but as they were trying to get the meat out of the canyon, an early winter storm hit without warning. They struggled through blizzard conditions until they were finally able to find the opening out of the canyon. They made their way across the open country and through the harsh weather conditions while still pulling their precious cargo. They finally spotted the highway and were motivated to keep going. By now, the scarves were frozen to their faces and the boots to their feet. A farmer found them standing on the side of the road and he loaded the young men and their cargo in his pick-up and transported them back to Ririe. Mathew and his friend both suffered from severe cases of frost bite. His family soaked the frozen clothing from his body but as they tried to remove the boots from his frozen feet, the flesh came with them. The doctor that attended him remarked that it was the worst case of frostbite that he had ever soon. His feet turned black and it took many weeks for his body to heal. His trip had not been in vain, as his mother, was able to bottle the meat, which supplemented the family through the winter. Mathew was always an avid sportsman and very much at home on the water. His father often took him on boat trips down the river and Matt became very skilled at handling boats to the point that law enforcement officers would ask him for help when trying to locate missing persons in the Snake River Gorge. As a young man, he designed and built boats and floated them down the South Fork of the Snake River. Mathew later started running boat tours down the river for tourists. A teacher of Matt's, Clyde Ormond, engaged Matt to take him on a trip through the gorge. Mr. Ormond, who was also a writer for a sports magazine, took pictures and wrote an article that was published in the magazine. Time on the water became a way of life for Mathew and after his graduation from high school, he was able to obtain employment as a boat pilot at Lake Junction in Yellowstone National Park. Just prior to the beginning of World War II, he enlisted in the National Guard Army Engineers and he served 14 months at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was discharged in 1941 and soon after that, he made a trip to Nevada and went to work for the Lake Mead Boat company as a pilot. It was not long after, that his younger brother Ross joined him there and Matt assisted Ross in obtaining work as a Lake Mead boat pilot as well. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he naturally enlisted in the Navy's Sea Bees. He was assigned to the 25th Battalion, serving with the Allied Forces in the South Pacific under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. He was stationed in New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia, and was attached to the Third Marine Division on Guam when the war ended. After his discharge from the service in 1946, he returned to Nevada and to his job as a boat pilot on Lake Mead, skippering the all day trip to Emery Falls for several months, then switching to a charter boat. During this time, he met his future wife Margaret Theresa [Doto] Harris and after a brief courtship, they were married on 8 July 1946 in Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada. Margaret was recently divorced and Matt became the father to Margaret's daughter Patsy Carmen Harris (1944-2004). Matt & Marge later became the parents of a son, Eric Mathew Larsen (1953). Matt & Marge established their home in Boulder City, Nevada and Matt worked as a charter boat pilot on Lake Mead while Marge worked in the gift shops. On November 1, 1948, Mathew became the skipper of a 45 foot "Palatial Cabin Cruiser" for the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas. As the time to retire grew near, Mathew and Marge bought some desert property around Pahrump, Nevada and they worked together to establish a home there. They drilled a well, planted trees and moved their mobile home there. They loved sitting on their porch in the early mornings and late evenings and enjoying the breathtaking view of the desert and far away mountains. In 1986, Matt suffered a stroke which affected his speech and eyesight. In the early summer of 1987 Mathew suffered another massive stroke and Marge was no longer able to care for him at their home. He was moved to a nursing home in Henderson, Nevada where he died 25 August 1987 from complications of heart attacks and strokes. He was 68 years of age. Mathew was survived by his wife, Margaret of Pahrump, Nevada; a daughter, Patsy (Brent) Griffis of LaPoint, Utah; a son, Eric (Margaret) Larsen of Mesa, Arizona; five grandchildren, Jay, Shannon, Joshua, Jennifer and James; two brothers, Calvin E. Larsen and Ross C. Larsen, both of Ririe, Idaho; four sisters, Thama Brown, of Boise, Idaho, Dorthy Rowland of Montpelier, DeEsta Rousey of Tacoma, Washington and Shirley Salvesen of Downey. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Ardith. Funeral arrangements included services in Nevada, with graveside services in the Rigby Pioneer Cemetery in Idaho on Saturday, 29 August 1987 at 11 a.m. provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1004 of Rigby and under the direction of Wood Funeral Home of Idaho Falls. Mathew was buried next to his parents in the Rigby Pioneer Cemetery.
Mathew Eric Larsen was born at the family home on 31 July 1919 at Rigby, Jefferson, Idaho. He was 3rd of the eight children born to Ephraim and Irene Pearl Call Larsen. Siblings: Calvin Ephraim Larsen (1916-1992), Thama [Larsen] Pugmire/Brown (1917-1997), Ross Call Larsen (1922-1997), Dorothy [Larsen] Rowland (1924-2013), Ardith Larsen (1926-1928) DeEsta [Larsen] Windley/Rousey (1928-2020) and Shirley [Larsen] Salvesen (1931-2020) He received a baby blessing and his name entered on the records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on 7 September 1919. Blessing was given by Bishop Omer Samuel Cordon, a 1st cousin to his mother. Mathew's parents purchased land from Irene's father, Omer Samuel Call, and they built a home for their family. For a few years, Mathew was able to live in close proximity to his maternal grandparents, Omer & Annie Call. In April of 1920, he traveled with his parents and siblings to Logan, Utah and the family was sealed together in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple. The family moved to Ririe, Idaho in 1925, where his father Ephraim opened up his own barber shop. Mathew grew up and attended schools in this small town. He was a good student and active in sports. Mathew enjoyed living in Ririe and the "Winter Carnivals" were his favorite. It was not uncommon to see Matt being pulled by a rope behind a fast running horse to attain the speed that he would need to negotiate a high jump. He learned to work hard helping his parents around their home and garden and his father installed a shoe-shine chair in his barber shop so that his sons could earn a little money of their own. Mathew was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by his great-uncle George A. Cordon on 29 October 1927. He was confirmed as a member of the church on Sunday, 6 November 1927 by William P. Fullmer. Shortly after Matt started his Junior year in high school, he and a friend, Herk Christensen, decided that they would back-pack into the upper-regions of the Snake River Valley to hunt for elk or deer to help subsidize the family's winter food storage. The young men were successful in each getting an elk but as they were trying to get the meat out of the canyon, an early winter storm hit without warning. They struggled through blizzard conditions until they were finally able to find the opening out of the canyon. They made their way across the open country and through the harsh weather conditions while still pulling their precious cargo. They finally spotted the highway and were motivated to keep going. By now, the scarves were frozen to their faces and the boots to their feet. A farmer found them standing on the side of the road and he loaded the young men and their cargo in his pick-up and transported them back to Ririe. Mathew and his friend both suffered from severe cases of frost bite. His family soaked the frozen clothing from his body but as they tried to remove the boots from his frozen feet, the flesh came with them. The doctor that attended him remarked that it was the worst case of frostbite that he had ever soon. His feet turned black and it took many weeks for his body to heal. His trip had not been in vain, as his mother, was able to bottle the meat, which supplemented the family through the winter. Mathew was always an avid sportsman and very much at home on the water. His father often took him on boat trips down the river and Matt became very skilled at handling boats to the point that law enforcement officers would ask him for help when trying to locate missing persons in the Snake River Gorge. As a young man, he designed and built boats and floated them down the South Fork of the Snake River. Mathew later started running boat tours down the river for tourists. A teacher of Matt's, Clyde Ormond, engaged Matt to take him on a trip through the gorge. Mr. Ormond, who was also a writer for a sports magazine, took pictures and wrote an article that was published in the magazine. Time on the water became a way of life for Mathew and after his graduation from high school, he was able to obtain employment as a boat pilot at Lake Junction in Yellowstone National Park. Just prior to the beginning of World War II, he enlisted in the National Guard Army Engineers and he served 14 months at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was discharged in 1941 and soon after that, he made a trip to Nevada and went to work for the Lake Mead Boat company as a pilot. It was not long after, that his younger brother Ross joined him there and Matt assisted Ross in obtaining work as a Lake Mead boat pilot as well. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he naturally enlisted in the Navy's Sea Bees. He was assigned to the 25th Battalion, serving with the Allied Forces in the South Pacific under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. He was stationed in New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia, and was attached to the Third Marine Division on Guam when the war ended. After his discharge from the service in 1946, he returned to Nevada and to his job as a boat pilot on Lake Mead, skippering the all day trip to Emery Falls for several months, then switching to a charter boat. During this time, he met his future wife Margaret Theresa [Doto] Harris and after a brief courtship, they were married on 8 July 1946 in Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada. Margaret was recently divorced and Matt became the father to Margaret's daughter Patsy Carmen Harris (1944-2004). Matt & Marge later became the parents of a son, Eric Mathew Larsen (1953). Matt & Marge established their home in Boulder City, Nevada and Matt worked as a charter boat pilot on Lake Mead while Marge worked in the gift shops. On November 1, 1948, Mathew became the skipper of a 45 foot "Palatial Cabin Cruiser" for the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas. As the time to retire grew near, Mathew and Marge bought some desert property around Pahrump, Nevada and they worked together to establish a home there. They drilled a well, planted trees and moved their mobile home there. They loved sitting on their porch in the early mornings and late evenings and enjoying the breathtaking view of the desert and far away mountains. In 1986, Matt suffered a stroke which affected his speech and eyesight. In the early summer of 1987 Mathew suffered another massive stroke and Marge was no longer able to care for him at their home. He was moved to a nursing home in Henderson, Nevada where he died 25 August 1987 from complications of heart attacks and strokes. He was 68 years of age. Mathew was survived by his wife, Margaret of Pahrump, Nevada; a daughter, Patsy (Brent) Griffis of LaPoint, Utah; a son, Eric (Margaret) Larsen of Mesa, Arizona; five grandchildren, Jay, Shannon, Joshua, Jennifer and James; two brothers, Calvin E. Larsen and Ross C. Larsen, both of Ririe, Idaho; four sisters, Thama Brown, of Boise, Idaho, Dorthy Rowland of Montpelier, DeEsta Rousey of Tacoma, Washington and Shirley Salvesen of Downey. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Ardith. Funeral arrangements included services in Nevada, with graveside services in the Rigby Pioneer Cemetery in Idaho on Saturday, 29 August 1987 at 11 a.m. provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1004 of Rigby and under the direction of Wood Funeral Home of Idaho Falls. Mathew was buried next to his parents in the Rigby Pioneer Cemetery.
Family Members
Siblings
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
