Milan "Mike" Larson

Milan (Mike) Martin Larson, 83, + 364 days, of Gothenburg, Nebraska, died peacefully with family beside him on Friday, January 29th, 2016.

Mike was born January 30th, 1932 in Custer County to Martin and Amanda (Maline) Larson.

Mike attended Rock Island school through the 8th grade then went to high school in Gothenburg through the 12th grade.  While in school, he lettered in football and track and field and sang tenor in the school choir.

After high school, Mike helped his folks on the farm until getting drafted into the army from June 3, 1953 to 1955.

On his return home, Mike got involved with the farm again.  On May 17th, 1957, Mike married Marian Sall at the Evangelical Free Church in Gothenburg.  They lived in town for about a year before Martin and Amanda moved to town and the newlyweds moved to the family farm.  In 1968, Mike started working full-time for Monroe Auto Equipment Company in Cozad as well as continuing to farm.  Mike retired from Monroe in 1992 and went back to full-time farming.  In his retirement years, Mike purchased light calves in the spring and sold them in the fall and rented out the farmland.  In 2014, Mike & Marian purchased a house on Avenue L  in Gothenburg and moved to town.

Mike received Christ as his personal Savior in March of 1951 at some special services at the Baptist Church in Gothenburg.  Mike was a charter member of the New Hope Evangelical Free Church and served as a board member, youth sponsor and Sunday School teacher for many years.  Mike was on the Youth for Christ board of directors for 13 years and with Gideon International for a number of years.

Family was very important to Mike and Marian and, together, they fostered close relationships with their children and grandchildren whether near or far.  Mike will be remembered for his deep faith in Christ and desire to share the gospel with others. He could talk to anyone and enjoyed visiting with friends, neighbors and complete strangers.  Mike loved the farm, hunting, the outdoors and natural history.  He also had a creative side and enjoyed playing guitar and the harmonica and took up painting as a hobby after retirement.

Mike is survived by his wife, Marian, one son, Todd, his wife, Tammy, of Smithers, British Columbia, Canada, and their daughters, Tara (Lee) Corneau of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, Kelsey (Dan) Tran of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, one daughter, Karen Anderson, her husband, Arden, of Chappell, Nebraska, and their sons, Lars (Ellen) of Malta, Montana, Sven (Crystal) of Maxwell, Nebraska, and Nels of Lincoln, Nebraska as well as great grandson, Thor Anderson.

Mike is preceded in death by his parents, Martin & Amanda Larson, and his sisters, Yvonne, Doris & Marilyn.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, February 3, 2016, from 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm with the family present from 4-6 pm at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel, Gothenburg, Nebraska.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 AM, Thursday, February 4, 2016 at the Evangelical Free Church, 1721 Lake Ave, Gothenburg, NE.

Memorials are suggested to Youth for Christ, PO Box 581, North Platte, NE, 69103; The Gideons International, PO Box 133, Gothenburg, NE, 69138;  and KJLT, PO Box 709, North Platte, NE, 69103-0709.