Christopher Charles Larson

Christopher “Chris” Charles Larson passed away unexpectedly on March 18, 2024. He will be dearly missed by his family, many close friends and associates—and he will be remembered fondly for his generosity and integrity.

Chris was born on October 29, 1970 and grew up around the Kansas City area—a place he would frequently return to in-between his many adventures across the country and abroad. He enlisted in the United States Army during his senior year of high school and left for basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia the day after graduating from Olathe North High School in 1989. During basic training, he was recruited for The Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C., where he spent three years serving as a Presidential Escort and performed countless funerals for respected military personnel. After his service in Washington D.C., he was stationed in Korea at the DMZ, where he spent his last year of service. He was a respected veteran who received many achievement and honor medals throughout his military career. He was a proud veteran of the United States Army.

Upon returning home from the service, Chris enrolled at Kansas State University with hopes of becoming a veterinarian or horticulturist. He made the Dean’s List and came close to graduating, but his dreams called him away from his studies. He quickly began building a reputation for his work in the world of gun dog training and guide hunting. Along the way, he worked for a few landscape companies such as Hermes and Aspen in the Kansas City area, where he was well known for his dedication to service and leadership.

Chris’ love for nature and animals always stood out. Even as a child, he would stay outside for hours fishing, finding animals or jumping fences to spend time with horses. His love of the outdoors fostered his life-long interest in outdoorsmanship and led to careers as a professional hunting guide, fisherman, and gear representative. His career in dog training and guide hunting took him all over the country and to some of the biggest ranches in Texas—including the Four Sixes and King Ranch—where he guided several past Presidents and government officials, among other well-known individuals. He also worked for DT Systems (a remote dog training collar company) as a Senior Pro Staff Member and received recognition for his expertise in dog training by becoming the face of one of the company’s products and being placed on the product box. Eventually, he started his own dog training business, Six Oak Gun Dogs, and continued to work with and for respected dog training kennels. Most recently, he worked as a Corporate Facilities Manager for Nations Family of Companies and as Manager for Sunflower Stables.

Chris was an avid sports fan and loved almost all sports. You could always catch him sporting his favorite K-State Wildcats hat or sweatshirt. He was also a huge Chiefs fan and Royals fan. Oftentimes, you would find him at sporting events watching his friends and family or even their kids from the sidelines. He was always there as a supportive fan. If you invited him to a game or race of any sort, he was always in for the love of the sport.

More than anything else, Chris’ proudest accomplishment was being a father to his daughter, Carmen. He loved her beyond words and cherished the time they spent together riding horses and coaching her in barrel racing. Chris and Carmen also shared the joy of traveling the country together, checking out historical landmarks and spending quality time together at the beach… getting in a chance to go fishing and catch “the big one”. Chris’ role with Sunflower Stables allowed them to share in the excitement of champion pedigree horse racing—and they worked as a father-daughter team to move horses all over the country and prep them for races. The bond between Chris and Carmen is unbreakable and will surpass his time here on earth.

Chris is survived by his daughter, Carmen Larson; his father, Jerry Larson; his mother, Leslie Klausen; his sister, Melissa Larson, her fiancé Domingo, and her son Jackson; his sister Amy Larson, her wife Mary, and their daughter Davey. In addition, he is survived by those who consider him a true father-figure, countless friends and family, near and far.

Chris is preceded in death by his loving grandparents, Charles Raymond “Ray” and Wilma Larson of Kansas City, Kansas; his grandmother, Bette Armstrong of Kansas City, Kansas; and his uncle, Charles Larson.

If you knew Chris, you knew he would give you the shirt off his back and the last $100 in his pocket, if you were in need-- even if you were across the county. He was truly one of a kind and will always be remembered for his kindness, generosity, and easy-going nature. To know him, was to love him.

In honor of Chris, we kindly request you wear some of his favorite things to his Celebration of Life & Funeral. Please wear your favorite sports team, best lake/beach/vacation attire or even a pair of cowboy boots. Chris would want us to celebrate him wearing the things he loved in life.

Additional details about funeral services, events and memories are available through his memorial page on Everloved. https://everloved.com/life-of/chris-larson/