Kenneth G Larsen
Marriages
Ethel Kichupolus
Annabelle Crawford - December 1934
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3C - July 17, 2011
Kenneth G. Larsen died on July
12, 2011 at the Hospice Care
Center in Grand Junction. He was
born on January 26, 1914 in
Brush, CO to Lars R. Larsen,
born in Skoby, Denmark, and Lila
(Howard) Larsen, born in Douglass,
WY. Ken’s mother died in
1932 when he was in high school
in Brush. His father raised saddle
and buggy horses and later switched to raising cattle with the advent
of the automobile.
Ken spent every summer working at a rocky mountain dude ranch,
saving money to enroll at the University of Northern Colorado. After
three years, when his funds ran out, he went to work at two Denver
drug stores. This work changed his plans and he enrolled and
graduated from the Capitol College of Pharmacy. He bought the Lee
Drug Store in Denver and changed the name to “Ken Pharmacy†in
1954. He sold the pharmacy in 1971 to move to Battlement Mesa to
retire, but he ended up working at various pharmacies in Rifle and
Grand Junction for many years.
Ken married Annabelle Crawford in Brush in December, 1934.
They met when he was a patient at the Brush Hospital where she
worked as a nurse. Their daughter, Judy, was born December 25,
1935 and now lives in Salt Lake City. She was previously married to
Frank Dorman and they had two sons, Michael T. Dorman and Jeffrey
Dorman, now of Washington and Idaho.
Ken, a natural born drummer, played in the Brush High School
Band and Orchestra, the Brush Town Band, and in his own band, the
Melody Masters. After moving to Battlement Mesa, he played with
the Grand Junction Symphony, the Centennial Band and Mary Ellen
Denomy’s Glenwood Hot Strings Band, which played all over the
Western Slope, winning first prize in the Meeker Fourth of July Parade.
Annabelle died in 1993 and is buried in Brush. When Kenneth
moved to Salt Lake City to be near his daughter, he met Ethel Kichupolus.
They were married and moved back to Battlement Mesa
where Ethel died in 1999.
Ken was very active in raising funds for the music department as
well as hiring a music director for the new Parachute High School
The Lions Club in Battlement Mesa invited him to join and he
served as President and won several awards. He spent hours testing
children’s eyesight for the Lions Club vision free program as well as
for the Redlands Lions Club in Grand Junction after he moved there
in 2004. Due to his own vision problems, he moved to tShe Atrium
in 2008 where he played his drums three times a week at both the
Atrium and Mesa Vista.
Kenneth is survived by his daughter, Judy Dorman; grandsons,
Michael and Jeffrey; five grandchildren and his special friend and
caregiver, Peggy Rawlins.
There will be no service and cremation has taken place under the
direction of Martin Mortuary. Burial will be in Battlement Mesa
Cemetery. Donations in Kenneth Larsen's memory may be made to
the Redlands Lions Club, c/o the Treasurer at Redlands Lions Club,
PO Box 4671, Grand Junction, CO 81502 or to Hospice, 3090B
North 12th Street, Grand Junction, CO 81506.
