Clyde "Bob" Robert Larson

Bob was born to Robert R. Larson and Lucille (Hammack) Larson January 14, 1938 in Havana, Illinois. When Bob was a very young boy, his father passed, and Lucille re-married Harry Morris. He attended Havana schools until he graduated from Havana High School in 1956. During his years of schooling in Havana, Bob met his wife, Grace VanHoorn, where it is said that he captured her attention by throwing crabapples at her as they walked to school.

Bob and Grace were married October 6, 1957 in Topeka at Bishop Church. Wanting a family, they soon welcomed their first child, a son, Brian with three additional children to follow: Anita, Sara and Mike. Bob was always a very hard worker and loved farming, working and spending most of his time with his uncles and aunts in the fields surrounding Havana and the melon stand as a young man. After high school, he started working at Rickett Grain, doing such an outstanding job, he was offered a manager’s position at Farmers Grain and Coal in Green Valley. With this new position, Bob and Grace moved closer to his place of work relocating their family to Manito in 1964, where he lived the rest of his life.

During his time when he was not working at the elevator, Bob could be found working on his home, remodeling, adding on additions and general carpentry. He would often include all the kids, teaching them how to drive a nail, or shingle the roof with a serious lesson of “if one nail will hold it, we better use at least five”. Bob was always generous with his time and skills, helping neighbors, kids and all his grandkids in any way that he could. As his kids got older, they inherited his love for remodeling, and he would spend hours working on their homes as well, pouring his love and special touch into each one of their lives. When he wasn’t doing carpentry, he could be found “tinkering” on cars or playing one of his guitars and singing his favorite country music songs. During warmer weather, he could be found in his garage doing wood work, making small rockers for his grandchildren, as well as small woodworking projects he made for his kids and family, placing his special brand on each project.

Bob loved his family dearly and spending time with his wife, kids and all his grandchildren was what he made priority in his life. He loved to drive and explore, taking his family on many vacations to see everything that he could from coast to coast, always finding time to stop along the way for ice cream. After retiring from the elevator in 2005, he continued his love of taking “Sunday Drives” to look at how fields were coming along, or looking at fall leaves and exploring new areas. He would often end up at one of the cousins for coffee around 3:00pm which he enjoyed visiting with on a regular basis.

He was well loved in the community and could often be seen taking daily walks around town. He loved Jesus and was a great Christian man. He was a member of the Church of Christ in Havana and held various positions in the Manito Optimist Club. He was a member of Manito Zoning Board and attended Manito United Methodist Church until his passing.

Bob is survived by his wife, Grace of 66 years; their children, Brian Larson of Pekin, Anita Meeker of Peoria, Sara (Dennis) Hayden of Manito, Mike (Regina) Larson of Nashville, Tennessee and Jaana Sirkia (special “adopted” daughter) from Finland; nine grandchildren, Alex (Melanie) Larson, Stefanie (Will) King, Miley (Joe) Collins, Christopher Meeker, Holly (James) Krus, Jeremy (Andrea) Meeker, Heather Hayden, Holly Flexsenhar and Trevor Hayden and will be lovingly remembered by his 16 great-grandchildren. Also surviving is his favorite sister, Cheryl (Morris) McCawley and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding Bob in their flight to heaven are his mother, father and step-father, as well as one great grandson, Malachi Meeker.

His funeral will be at 5 p.m. Sunday, February 4, 2024 at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. Pastor Steve Oakes and Pastor Timothy Lindsay will officiate. Visitation will be from 3 to 4:45 Sunday afternoon. Graveside services and final good-byes will be at 10 a.m. Monday morning at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Havana.

Memorials in Bob’s memory may be given to Trevor’s Endeavor, in care of Manito Community Bank, 105 South Adams Street, Manito, Illinois 61546 or Community United Methodist Church, 109 South Washington Street, Manito, Illinois 61546.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com