John Larson Jr.

John Larson Jr. “Papa Florida”, 85, born December 13, 1928 in New Castle, Indiana to John and Zora Larson, passed away May 5, 2014 in Mesa, Arizona. John lived on a one acre farm in the country with his parents and his two brothers Walt and Jack At the age of 9, his father passed away and the family had to sell the farm and move in to town to live with his Aunt Francis. While living with Aunt Francis, John’s first job was to help her feed the chickens and gather eggs. As he got older, he worked and lived with several farm families so that he could attend school. After John graduated from York High School, he went to work for a small airport washing and gassing up the airplanes and cleaning runways and hangers. I exchange for wages, John asked for flying lessons; with the lessons, he was able to go on to get his pilot license, instructor’s license. John decided to go on to college and attended Ball State University, while attending the University he worked for the Marsh family as a security guard at their Dry Clean and Laundry store, where he stayed at night and attended college during the day. To earn money to continue attending, john worked for many other companies. He graduated from Ball State University in 1953. After graduating, John got married, joined the Air Force and had three children, Lynn, Debbie and Susan. While in the Air Force, John was a flight instructor and flight commander at Shepherd AFB in Texas and Williams AFB in Arizona. From 1967 – 1968 he served in Vietnam flying over 100 missions. Upon his return to the US, he was called by the Lord and came to know Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, which was a true life changer for him. John also moved to MacDill AFB near Tampa, Florida and then to Avon Park where he was Base Commander, before retiring from the USAF in 1971. Following retirement from the Air Force, John went to work form the State of Florida working in the Unemployment office until his retirement in 1996. While living in Florida, he attended the River Hills Church of God, there he taught Sunday School, lead small groups, sag in the choir and drove the church bus. I=on the weekends, John purchased food to feed the hungry people and visited the children on his bus route; he took in many homeless people and helped them to find jobs. John was a very honest, upright man who loved the Lord with all his heart. He was a good father, a generous person, helped others and a faithful servant. John is survived by his loving daughters Lynn Ann (Harry) Roosevelt, Debra Jeanne (Rick) Holman and Susan Kay Barnes; grandchildren Bethany, Valroee, John and Lisa and great grandchildren Michael, Aubrey, Alexis, Judah, Jadelyn, Odin and Jeremiah. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Walt and Jack. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 am, Friday, May 9, 2014 at Immanuel Presbyterian Church 1763 North Gilbert Rd in Mesa. Arrangements entrusted to Mariposa Gardens Funeral Care.