Lawrence Halvorson
Lawrence “Larry/Sonny” Halvorson, 88, of Bullhead City, Ariz., passed away peacefully at home Wednesday, May 15, 2019.
He was born March 5, 1931, in Virginia, Minn., to Lawrence and Mary (Gingerelli) Halvorson as the younger of two children. Larry grew up in Virginia, Minn., (The Iron Range) with his older sister, June and his dog, a Husky named Mike. They lived one block from the Horace Mann School ice rink and at an early age he took to ice skating and playing hockey.
He enjoyed the physical, skill and competitive aspects of hockey throughout the early years of his life and that served him well teaching many lessons about hard work and determination. Larry’s father Lawrence owned and ran Queen City Ice Company, a very successful ice business in Virginia in the 1930s, until his passing in 1939. During that time Larry’s father taught him many lessons about owning a business.
When he was in the U.S. Army at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, he played hockey for the Elmendorf Airforce Base Commandos and they were National Champions in 1952 to 1953. On Oct. 6, 1951, it was Larry’s luck and very good fortune to marry Dorothy Hoffman of Buyck, Minn. Together they were married for 63 action packed years and raised four high energy, fun seeking boys.
After Larry got out of the U.S. Army, he and Dorothy moved to Minneapolis so Larry could go to business school at the University of Minnesota. They then moved back to northern Minnesota (Virginia) where he started an auto-supply business called Sunny Supply Line. In 1960, after five successful years with that business and now having four young boys, Larry and Dorothy decided on a new adventure and moved west. After one year in Missoula, Mont., they landed in Moscow, a small college town, where they ran several businesses and finished raising their four boys. There they started and successfully ran Larry’s Shoes, Dorothy’s Fabrics, Mike’s Auto Supply and Pat’s Pool and Pinball all on Main Street in Moscow.
Although Larry felt bad that in Idaho, he couldn’t teach his boys how to play hockey, he was very happy they all took up wrestling as their main sport. Larry was the kind of dad (along with mom, Dorothy) that attended every wrestling match his sons were in for more than nine years and he was always more than vigorous in cheering them on from the sidelines. Larry and Dorothy were always very supportive of their sons, whether it was in sports, education, family or business.
After they retired, their home became San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico, where they had many friends and enjoyed deep sea fishing, square dancing, bingo and sharing dinners with friends and family. Larry worked hard and he played hard. He was known for always greeting people with a big smile and had a fun story or a good joke to share. Larry and Dorothy were a great team as they worked very hard together both in their businesses and in raising their boys.
In 2016, a year after Dorothy passed away, Larry connected with a longtime family friend also from Virginia, Minn., Jean Bodovinitz Moore, and they lived near each other in Bullhead City, Ariz. Larry was very lucky to find companionship and friendship with Jean as they spent a lot of quality time together during the past three years.
Larry is survived by his sons Larry Halvorson III of Boise, Mike (Suzi) Halvorson of Missoula, Mont., Pat Halvorson of Paducah, Ky., and Bruce (Shell) Halvorson of Paducah, Ky.; grandchildren Rich and Steve Halvorson, Jeff Halvorson, Tami Jo Williams, Tommy (Brynn) Halvorson, Jenny (Brent) Johnson, Rosemary, Patrick, Bobby and Joey Halvorson, Justin (Lindsey) Halvorson; great-grandchildren Madison, Brennan and Eva Johnson; and many nieces and nephews. Larry is also survived by his brother-in-law Anthony Rutar of Buyck, Minn., and sister-in-law Janice Hoffman of Butte, Mont., and formerly of Gheen, Minn.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy; grandson Jacob Halvorson; his sister June Koski; his parents Lawrence and Mary Halvorson.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Friday at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 306 Second St., South, Virginia, Minn., 55792, with Father Brandon Moravitz officiating. Larry, being a very devout Catholic all his life was raised in this parish.
Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. immediately before the funeral service.
A reception and lunch from noon to 2 p.m. will immediately follow the funeral service.
At 4 p.m. Larry’s remains will be laid to rest with his wife Dorothy in the Forest Home Cemetery in Buyck, Minn., where they were married and her family were homesteaders 100 years ago.
We invite anyone from the Iron Range community who grew up with or knew Larry and Dorothy to join us in the celebration of his life.
We love you and will really miss you Dad. We are so sorry you are gone, but we know you are happy now that you are reunited with mom in heaven.