Wayne Keith Larson

Wayne Keith Larson, 93, of Maplewood, MN, passed away peacefully on September 5, 2025 at Ecumen Seasons at Maplewood, surrounded by his family. Wayne was born on March 12, 1932 in Fergus Falls, MN of Embert Frances Larson and Ottelie (Tillie) Josephine Magenton Toftley. He played high school and college football, graduating from Fergus Falls High School and attending Bemidji State, Minot State, and Utah State colleges on football scholarship. Wayne married Marian Delores Larson of Minot, ND on September 30, 1952. He served in the US Navy from 1952-1956 during the Korean War conflict, aboard the USS Bataan and USS Oriskany aircraft carriers, achieving the rank of First Class Petty Officer, specializing in communications.

Wayne and Marian made their home in Minot, ND from 1956-1969 where he worked in real estate development and contracting. In 1969 they moved to Maplewood, MN where Wayne worked at 3M as a Senior Research Specialist, Industrial and Electronic Sector Research

Laboratory for the next 28 years until his retirement in 1997. Wayne’s research in the area of water soluble polymer chemistry at 3M was innovative for the time. He holds many patents and enjoyed his research immensely. Wayne was a Renaissance man, curious and gifted in many areas. He developed skills from building and design to math, science and chemistry. Wayne was

a naturalist, creating a beautiful flower garden and saving seeds from year to year. He enjoyed reading about the history of the world and was knowledgeable and up to date about civics, government and current politics. In this, he shared many lively conversations with Marian.

Wayne enjoyed music, especially Marian’s wonderful piano playing and singing, but also popular songs from the 1940s, many of which he would often sing verbatim and with good pitch and rhythm right up to the end. He read literature and poetry and often recited ballads and poems he had learned during high school especially O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman,

and A Nautical Extravagence by Wallace Irwin. Wayne was a wonderful cook and baker, especially of Norwegian specialties like Lefse, Flatbread and Lutefiske at Christmastime, and molasses cookies, and pumpkin pie. He was a builder of things, including his own magnificent home and two beautiful cedar strip canoes. And he understood mechanics, fixing his own cars

and repairing appliances for many years. Wayne was a marksman and avid hunter and fisherman enjoying trips to Saskatchewan Canada and The Boundary Waters area of MN. He always talked about showing respect and sustainability for the animals and later in life, he much preferred quietly watching the many wild animals in his wooded yard. Wayne enjoyed good

conversations, a good laugh, a good story, and a good meal. He was a husband for 67 years, a father, grandfather and great grandfather. Wayne is preceded in death by his wife Marian, his parents, and brothers Bud and Roger. He is survived by his children Debra, Tim, Mary, Mark,

Chad and Alyssa, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren