David D. Larsen, 68

U.S. Veteran

David D. Larsen, 68, passed away unexpectedly, but peacefully at his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Dec. 8, 2016. Dave was born in Logan, Utah, to Natalie and Amos Larsen on Feb. 4, 1948, and was raised in Los Angeles, Calif., where he graduated from Carson High School.

Dave served his country proudly as a Vietnam era veteran. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1966, and became an electronics technician. He had many accomplishments during his Navy career, but he was especially proud of being part of three Apollo spacecraft recovery missions.

After his military service, Dave pursued a successful career in electronics beginning with Argo Systems in San Francisco and Naples, Italy. He later joined Seagate Technologies, working in Hong Kong and Singapore, before being promoted to executive plant manager in Bangkok, Thailand. After living so many years abroad, he moved his family back to the U.S. and settled in Coeur d’Alene in 1999. He was working as a school bus driver for the Coeur d’Alene School District at the time of his death. He loved being part of the “bus barn” and enjoyed his time with the children each day.

Dave was honored to be a lifetime member of the VFW, Cooties, American Legion, Hayden Eagles, NRA, and an associate member of the U.S. Submarine Veterans. He proudly served with the local military honor guard at many events.

He is survived by his wife, Orathai (Onn); daughter Jiraporn (Jenny) and granddaughter Ariya; along with his siblings, Anthony, Patricia and Susan. Dave was an incredible husband, father, brother and friend to everyone he met. He was a loving man with a huge heart, always generous and caring for his family and friends. He loved his dogs and cared for them with all his heart, was an avid reader, fisherman and lover of the natural beauty of Idaho. He will be dearly missed.

The memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017, at English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene.

Visit David’s memorial and sign his online guest book at www.englishfuneralchapel.com.