Gary Larson

Gary I. Larson, 75, Man-

dan, died unexpectedly

on June 8, 2020 at Sanford

Health, Bismarck, from

complications after a fall.

He was surrounded with

love and friendship.

A funeral service will

be held at 11 AM on Mon-

day, June 15, 2020 at

Buehler-Larson Funeral

Home, Mandan, with Rev.

Christina Martin officiat-

ing.

Burial will be at the

North Dakota Veterans

Cemetery with full mili-

tary honors.

Visitation will be held

from 5 to 7 PM on Sun-

day, June 14, 2020 at

Buehler-Larson Funeral

Home, Mandan, and con-

tinue from 9:30 to 11 AM

on Monday at the funeral

home.

Gary was born on July

12, 1944 to Selmer “Sam”

and Grace (Newman) Lar-

son. Raised and educated

in Minot, he graduated

from Minot High School

in 1962. Gary attended

Minot State College and

was studying at the

Wisconsin Institute of

Mortuary Science when

he volunteered for the

draft. He was inducted

into the US Army on

April 13, 1967 and arrived

in Vietnam in September

of that year. He was first

assigned to the 1st Infan-

try Division as a clerk, but

later, during the Tet Of-

fensive, was reassigned to

the mortuary. After 15

months, he extended his

tour to immediately get

out of the Army when he

returned home. Gary Lar-

son left Vietnam, but Viet-

nam never left him. He

was forever changed be-

cause of his time in

Saigon but said he’d do it

all over again, because he

helped grieving families

back in the US to get clo-

sure.

On Jan. 4, 1971, Gary

married Patricia Tonkin

in Minneapolis. They

moved to Neenah, WI and

later to Chicago, IL where

Gary finished mortuary

school. In 1979, they

moved to Mandan where

Gary worked for Buehler

Funeral Home. In 1989,

Gary and Pat purchased

the funeral home from

Warren Buehler and they

worked side by side for

the next 25 years. Gary

was a sharp dressed man

with a quiet and gentle

demeanor. He helped

countless families say

farewell to their loved

ones with the upmost care

and dignity. He took great

pride in his work and was

dedicated to the families

of the communities he

served. Gary made many

friends and connections

through his years of fun-

eral service. They sold the

funeral home and retired

in 2014.

Although their free time

was limited with the work

they did, Gary and Pat en-

joyed numerous trips to

Mexico as well as a

memorable trip to China.

They were season ticket-

holders to the Minnesota

Vikings for many years

and loved spending time

at their cabin in Pick City

on Lake Sakakawea. Gary

was a huge Minnesota

Twins fan, always had a

news channel on the TV,

and loved feeding the

birds and dreaming about

woodworking projects. He

was a catalog shopping

addict and enjoyed getting

new gadgets and tools. He

had an impressively full

closet and a hat and shoe

collection that anyone

would love to have if it

wasn’t for his incredibly

long arms and narrow feet

that made him a unique

size. Gary was a storytell-er second to none and if

he chose to share his

stories with you, it was

generally the moment you

realized you wanted him

in your life. He was an in-

trovert but once you got to

know him he would share

anything he had to offer.

Generous and giving,

Gary usually had a $20

bill in his pocket for kids

who helped him with

things around the yard or

funeral home and was the

kind of guy who always

had candy in his pocket to

share. Gary and Pat al-

ways had dogs in their

home and any pup who

was blessed to live with

them was loved and

spoiled to no end. Pat

passed away in 2016 and

Gary’s loyal pets gave him

much love and compan-

ionship to his final day.

Gary is survived by: his

sister, Vivian (Rob) King,

Bismarck; brother-in-law,

Bernie (Eloise) Pel-

lenwessell, Minot;

mother-in-law, Edna Ton-

kin, Roseville, MN; spe-

cial sister-in-law, Penny

(Andrew) Hoffman, Rose-

ville, MN;

brothers-in-law, Ross

(Sue) Tonkin, Phoenix,

AZ, Jeff Tonkin, Roseville,

MN, and Jon (Debbie)

Tonkin, Bloomington,

MN; and many nieces,

nephews, and great-nieces

and great-nephews.

Blessed to have shared in

his life is a former em-

ployee and her family

who became family to

Gary and took care of him

until his last breath. Jessie

and Bill Hilfer and their

boys, Kaden, Ryan, and

Liam, who loved “Uncle

Gary” and visited him

often making sure he had

all the comforts he want-

ed as well as a great stash

of munchies, ice cream,

and cookies. Also funeral

home handyman and dear

friend, James (Sue) Allmer

who showed selfless dedi-

cation and willingness to

help Gary with anything

he needed without ever

wanting anything in re-

turn. And finally, his

beloved dogs, lap warm-

ers, crumb eaters, and

home security alarms,

Trooper and Lacie.

Gary was preceded in

death by: his wife of 45

years, Patricia “Pat” Lar-

son; his parents; sister,

Jeanette Pellenwessel;

brother, Rich (Mardi) Lar-

son; father-in-law, Robert

Tonkin; and nieces, Mary

(King) Fiechtner and Lori

Rae Larson. Gary was

greeted in Heaven by

numerous dogs who he’d

cared for until their last

day.

Since his passing many

have said “Gary was one

of the good ones.” Your

work here is done my

friend, may the work you

have done speak for you.