Don Loren Larsen

Don Loren Larsen, 78, of Lakewood, Colorado passed away peacefully on April 13, 2024. He was the younger of two children born to the late Fred and Lorene Larsen, a tool and die maker and seamstress, in Denver, Colorado on December 18, 1945. He lived the life of an active, young boy who loved fishing, model trains, pranking his sister, and baseball. He graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in 1964 and received a Bachelor's Degree and teaching certificate from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado in 1969. He accepted a teaching position at Sheridan Junior-Senior High School in Sheridan, Colorado where he taught Industrial Arts to junior and senior high school students. He was drafted into the Army and served from 1970 through 1971, where he was stationed in the DMZ in South Korea. After returning from service, he returned to his teaching position for a few years and then decided to change his career path to work as a maintenance engineer managing numerous buildings in downtown Denver and later became a supervisor at Sylvania lighting, where he retired in 2011.

Don was blessed with a loving family. He married his wife and fellow Sheridan High School vocal music teacher, Vicki Lynn Powell on March 25, 1972. They recently celebrated 52 years of marriage. Together with Vicki, he helped raise their two daughters with patience, love, and humility - which he later affectionately provided to his two young grandchildren as well. He enjoyed visiting the mountains, road trips, fishing, and weekends at the family cabin maintaining the property and enjoying the outdoors. He was a true "weekend warrior" spending numerous hours wandering the aisles of the many local hardware stores, spending time tinkering in the garage, meticulously caring for the yard, and of course plenty of time devoted to watching the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies. He was friendly and kind with a quiet demeanor, yet he had a wonderful sense of humor and often shared his gentle sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek banter with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He was generous, loyal, and brave, always making time to answer a question or help solve a problem, no matter how big or small. He was clever and witty, and full to the brim with knowledge gained not only from his father, but through all of his many life experiences as a: solider, carpenter, engineer, and ultimate handyman - he could fix or build anything. But above all he was a son, brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather, and friend. He is dearly missed and will be remembered for his big heart and the playful sense of humor he shared with his friends and family, who celebrate his life well-lived.

Don is survived by his wife, Vicki; his daughters Jennifer Larsen and Amy Miller (Jeremy Lynn); his grandchildren Isla Miller and Grayson Miller; and his sister Joan VanderMolen (David), along with three nieces and many other extended family members he treasured. He is preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the All Veterans Honor Guard and/or the Colorado Parkinson's Foundation.

Memorial services will be held on Friday, May 24, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. in the chapel of Newcomer Funeral Home at 901 S. Sheridan Blvd. Lakewood, CO 80226. Afterwards, an internment ceremony will take place at Fort Logan National Cemetery, followed by a reception and celebration of life at Locavore Beer Works at 5950 S. Platte Canyon Rd. Littleton, CO 80123.

Send condolences or special messages for the family at NewcomerDenver.com.

Don's service will be livestreamed at the scheduled service time. Click here to view the service.