Larry Bruce Klaasen
OBITUARY
Larry Klaasen, born in Whittier, died at home in San Diego from complications of pancreatic cancer at the age of 81.
Larry was a lifelong environmentalist. He was a lifetime Sierra Club member and was active in the local chapter as a lead finance person, outings leader, and 1998 Chapter Chair. Larry was a Weed Warrior, volunteering for 2 dozen years with Tecolote Nature Center and Lakeside Riverpark Conservancy in controlling invasive plants. He volunteered many times in that capacity in the desert with BLM in the ’90s and early 2000s. Larry had an intense interest in genealogy for 20 years. He was an avid geocacher, logging over 11,000 finds on 6 continents. He backpacked and hiked, skied, rock climbed, sailed Thistles, played bridge, loved traditional Irish and Scottish music, was an amateur bird watcher, and had recently started beekeeping. Larry was a civil service employee of the U.S. Navy for over 30 years, retiring from North Island in 2003. He attended Berkeley in the ’60s and received his Master’s in chemistry from SDSU.
Larry is survived by his wife of 38 years, Pat, who was his adventure and travel companion; by his sister Sue and brother Jon; by Pat’s son Scott and wife Susie, grandchildren Denver and Daisy, and two great-grandchildren, Sutton and Forest. In lieu of flowers, Pat welcomes donations to Lakeside Riverpark Conservancy.
A Celebration of Life will be on May 16. Friends interested in attending can email Pat at pklaasen@juno.com by May 2 for an evite with details. Larry will be missed for his kindness, generosity, ready smile and infectious laugh.