LTC Robert “Bob” Leland Larzalere (Ret.), 82, former member of Iola’s Kansas National Guard, died Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Fort Collins, Colo.
He was born Dec. 1, 1928, in Minneapolis, to August “Gus” William and Myrtle (Beck) Larzalere.
While at the University of Kansas he met and married Gertrude Heideman on Jan. 3, 1953, in Seneca.
After his graduation 1946 from Hays High School he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. In the summer of 1948, based on a competitive examination, Airman Larzalere was selected for a Naval ROTC scholarship. Following the completion of the U.S. Naval Academy and College Preparatory School at Bainbridge, Md., in August 1948, he was sworn in as a Midshipman, USNR and entered the Naval ROTC program at the University of Kansas. In 1952, he graduated from KU and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He completed his tour of duty with the Marine Corps at the Supply Forwarding Annex in San Francisco, Calif. In September 1954 he was assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve and returned to civilian life in Kansas.
He continued to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve until January 1958 when he was commissioned 1st Lieutenant, Artillery, in the 135th AAA Battalion, Kansas Army National Guard.
In 1963, Larzalere was transferred to the 195th Engineer Group headquartered in Iola. He retired in 1974. While in Iola, he and his wife were active in the Iola Community Theatre. He began a second career as an air traffic control specialist, stationed in Trinidad, Colo. He retired in 1987.
He enjoyed Western and military history, reading, hunting and fishing. He was a life member of the National Rifle Association, the National Guard Association of Kansas and the United States Reserve Officers Association and the American Philatelic Society. He was a member of the Marine Corps League, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Kansas Historical Society, Order of the Arrow, Order of Indian Wars and the Custer Battlefield Association.
He is survived by his wife of the home; four daughters, Jeanne and her husband, Jonathan Bloom, Marie and her husband, Klaus Krizanovic, Linda and her husband, Rick Bohn, and Laura and her husband, Dave Carter; and a son, Charles and his wife, Denise Larzalere; and his grandchildren, Nicholas and Brett Larzalere, Brandon and Jordan Krizanovic, and Kyle and Kaitlen Carter.
Funeral services were this afternoon at Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive in Fort Collins. Graveside military service and interment were in Grandview Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the U.S. Marine Corps League or American Cancer Society. To send condolences to the family or view the complete obituary online visit www.bohlenderfuneralchapel.com.
‘Bob’ Larzalere
