Eileen Larson

Eileen Larson, 105, of Portland, ND, passed away Friday, August 9, 2024, at her home in rural Portland. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Hatton, ND. A visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the service at the church. 

Eileen May Dolve Larson was born July 15, 1919, on the Dolve Larson farm, which is located between Hatton, ND and Portland, ND. Her parents were Clara (Lee) Dolve and Ole Henry Dolve. Eileen was baptized on December 28, 1919, at St. John Lutheran Church in Hatton. As a young girl, she loved to swim and was very involved in Girl Scouts, where she was the first girl to receive the Golden Eagle. She graduated valedictorian from Hatton High School in 1937.

After graduation, Eileen attended Mayville State Teacher’s College for one year. Her time at Mayville State got cut short as her grandmother, Ragnhilde Nestoss Dolve, needed a care giver. She lovingly took care of her grandmother from 1938 until February of 1940. Eileen then resumed her studies, but now at North Dakota State University, where she met the love of her life, Joseph F. Larson. She graduated with an education degree in 1943. After college, she taught at Renville, MN from September 1, 1943 – June 21, 1944. One month later on June 21, 1944, she married Joseph F. Larson at St. John Lutheran Church in Hatton. Eileen and Joseph moved to Cleveland, OH due to Joseph working for the United States Air Force as a civilian engineer. Eileen became an assistant church secretary for the Lakewood, Ohio Congregational Church until they left Cleveland in 1946. Joseph and Eileen moved to Grenora, ND in 1946 and then moved back to Hatton right at the time of the birth of their first child, Patricia Ann Larson, on August 15, 1947. Three years later on July 21, 1950, their second child, Joseph F. Larson II, was born. Eileen taught elementary school for 40 years.

Eileen was hired by the Nathan F. Twining school district in 1965 to work on the Grand Forks Air Force Base and she continued to work there until her retirement in May of 1981. After her retirement, Eileen and Joe traveled more and she became active in the Republican Party. She unsuccessfully ran for state senate from district 20 in 1990. She was a delegate to the 1988 Republican Convention as well as the state woman’s republican chairman. In 2004, Eileen and Joe had a farm sale and they bought a condo in Fargo, where they could supervise her brother, Winston.

In September of 2010, Eileen’s life changed when she developed critical aortic stenosis and was airlifted to Chicago with ultimate surgery at Northwestern Hospital. For 10 months, Eileen and Joseph lived with their daughter, Patricia. They went on to buy their own condominium across the street from the hospital with their caregiver, Crisaldy. Both Eileen and Joe contracted COVID-19 in 2020. Eileen, the strong one, survived and her husband of 76 years went to heaven on November 20, 2020, to help prepare a place for her. Eileen passed away on Friday, August 9, 2024, at her home in rural Portland, ND.

Survivors include her two children, Patricia (Albert) Schrautemyer and Joseph (Priscilla) Larson II,as well as 8 grandchildren; Maria Abe, AJ (Albert), Andrew and Alexander Schrautemyer and Theresa Stefanich, Caroline Erdmann, Leah Hightower and Rebecca Hillesheim and 11 great-grandchildren.