LARSSON, John Arnold, 90, MANNCHESTER, CONN. & NEW SWEDEN, at Manchester, February 28, 2011. Arrangements are in the care of Holmes-Watkins Funeral Homes, Conn.
MANNCHESTER, CONN. and NEW SWEDEN — John Arnold Larsson was born on June 21, 1920, in New Sweden, Maine. His parents were Frank Louis and Hulda (Storm) Larsson, both of whom were the children of immigrants from Sweden. He had two brothers, Louis P. Larsson of Presque Isle, Maine, and an infant brother known as “Billy” who died shortly after birth, and sister, Marjorie (Larsson) Holden of Goffstown, New Hampshire.
He grew up on the family farm on the North Jemtland Road (now Stockholm Road), and sometimes worked in the nearby general store founded by his grandfather, Lars P. Larsson, the immigrant. When he was a boy, he would accompany his uncle, Axel Larsson, town selectman, and his uncle by marriage, Otis Peterson, tax assessor, on their visitations to what was then over 125 family farms in the town of New Sweden, and, decades later, he still remembered details about what he heard and saw on those visits.
He began school in the Jemtland School in New Sweden, Maine, and graduated from Caribou High School. He attended the Maine School of Commerce (now Husson University) in Bangor, Maine.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Army in World War II, during most of which he was stationed as a medical supply officer at bases in and around Hudson Bay in Canada, and ultimately attained the rank of corporal. He served a short stint at the very end of the war guarding German prisoners of war in Houlton, Maine, and was honorably discharged in November 1945.
In 1947, he married Frances Rowena Foss of Chapman, Maine, daughter of Halsted C. and Grace (Warman) Foss, to whom he was introduced by his sister Marjorie, with whom Frances taught at the Gouldville School in Presque Isle. They made their home at first in Presque Isle, where their son Donald was born in 1949, and then moved to Manchester, Connecticut, where John and Frances made their home for the rest of their lives, and where their son David was born in 1954. They were charter members of Community Baptist Church in Manchester, which he served as treasurer, member of the stewardship committee, and usher.
He worked for more than 30 years at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, Connecticut, where he was burr bench operator, a job that required him to finish jet engine parts within tiny error tolerances.
He loved automobiles, particularly automotive history, and frequently dated important events, such as the birth of his sons, by what car he drove at the time. He had a wonderful sense of direction, enjoyed driving, and loved maps. He took the greatest joy in his family, both nuclear and extended, and enjoyed visiting, calling, and writing to relatives. He was, to the end, ready, willing, and able to explain the most seemingly remote relationship between family members, and pass along a story that inevitably shed a friendly light upon the qualities of the people of whom he spoke. He recently used the word “conscientious” to describe his sister Marjorie, and the word is also a fitting description of John, his wife Frances, and his brother Louis, as well.
He passed away on February 28, 2011, at Manchester Manor with his son Donald at his side.
His father, mother, brothers, sister, and wife predeceased him, as did his nephews, Frank and Peter Holden, sons of John’s sister Marjorie, his sister-in-law, Florenteen (Johnson) Larsson, and Larry Allen, the husband of his niece Joyce (Larsson) Allen. Of his immediate family, he is survived by his son Donald and his wife Natalie Rosinsky of Bloomington, Minnesota, and their son Daniel Rosinsky-Larsson of Istanbul, Turkey, and by his son David and David’s wife Anne (Schlegel) Larsson of Haddon Heights, New Jersey, their daughter Elizabeth also of Haddon Heights, and their son Halsted and his wife Jennifer (Bazydlo) Larsson of Haverford, Pennsylvania. Of his extended family, he is survived by the daughters of his brother Louis, Ellen (Larsson) Lunt and her husband Frederick Lunt of Clinton, Maine, and their sons and grandchildren, Norma Larsson and her companion Robert Sezak of Fairfield, Maine, and Joyce (Larsson) Allen and her daughters and grandchildren; by his first cousins, Natalie (Larsson) Silverness and her husband Lars of Floral Park, New York, and Eloise (Larsson) Anderson of Presque Isle; by his brother-in-law, Edward Holden of Goffstown, New Hampshire, and Edward’s daughter-in-law (Frank’s wife), Barbara (Van Iderstine) Holden of New Haven, Connecticut; and by his good friends and relatives of Frances, Dale and Barbara Higgins of Stafford Springs, Connecticut; and by many other loving friends and family members.
Peace to his memory.
Visiting hours were held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 4, 2011, at Holmes Funeral Home, 400 Main Street, Manchester, Connecticut, and the funeral was at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2011, also at Holmes Funeral Home. Burial followed in East Cemetery, Manchester. Memorial contributions may be made in John’s memory to Community Baptist Church 585 East Center Street Manchester, CT 06040. To sign the online guestbook please visit www.holmes-watkinsfuneralhomes.com.
