Youth
Youth
When you meet Glen Larson you are struck by his sharp wit, engaging personality, and his zest for life. Born in 1933 in Tribune, SK, he was one of 13 siblings raised by George (Johan) Victor and Esther (neé Johnson) Larson.
In 1946 the family moved to BC, eventually settling on a five- acre property in South Canoe in 1951. Farming larger acreages was just too hard on George’s heart. Glen graduated from Salmon Arm Consolidated High School in 1952.
His ambition was to become a lawyer but his father’s death in 1953 put paid to that. He became the breadwinner for his widowed mother and a younger brother still in high school.
In 1956 Glen accepted an offer to go to Technical school in Montreal. The two-year course was compressed into one year. Relatively few made the grade but Glen was one of them. He achieved a First-Class Radio Operator Certificate, as well as training in Meteorology, Electronic Design and Repair, and Civil Engineering. Upon graduation he went to work for the Federal Government as a Radio Operator, Weather Observer and Electronics Technician in Montreal.
Hana was born in Salmon Arm to Achiro (Archie) and Take (neé Yoshikawa) Tanemura, the fifth of 10 siblings. She graduated from Salmon Arm Consolidated High School in 1949 then attended Normal School in Victoria.
Glen and Hana were married for 59 years. They met in 1954 when he was helping Hana’s brother spray strawberries on the Tanamura family farm here in Salmon Arm. Their first date was at a wind-up party for the softball team that Glen played on and Hana’s brother Ken coached. Hana was teaching school in Surrey, but she and Glen dated when she came home to visit her parents. When Glen went to Montreal in 1956, they maintained contact via Canada Post, and when he returned to BC in 1957, he quickly looked up Hana and the romance resumed. They were married on August 1,1959, and had two children: Spencer, b. November 12, 1960, d. January 13, 1979, and Jill, b. June 29, 1965, d. May 21, 2017.
As a government employee Glen was transferred to postings throughout BC. From Terrace, the family moved to Princeton in 1968. Hana resumed teaching and they bought a 52-acre farm. Besides maintaining the farm Glen busied himself serving on the Regional District Board and the Princeton & Regional Hospital Board while also being the Officer-in- Charge/Maintenance Supervisor for Princeton Airport and associated telecom facilities. The eight years in Princeton held a special place in the hearts of the Larson family.
In 1976 Glen was transferred to Victoria Airport as Electronics Supervisor for Telecom and Navigation Aids for Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii and up the coast as far a Bella Bella and Bella Coola. During the eight years Glen spent travelling up and down the coast, the family lived in Sidney. His final position was as a Technical Consultant for the Radar Modernization Program (RAMP) in the Vancouver regional office of Transport Canada. He retired in 1989, and he and Hana came back to the Shuswap, settling in Salmon Arm in 2012.
Hana had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2008. She entered care in Mt. Ida Mews in 2014, where she died on November 19, 2018. Glen visited her daily, bringing her treats, helping her eat, and making sure she was well cared for.
Glen and Hana greatly valued education, so in 2018 the Larson Family Endowment was established in memory of Hana, Jill, and Spencer. It will provide a bursary to School District No. 58, Nicola-Similkameen. In March of 2020 Glen established the Hana and Glen Larson Endowment, which will provide a bursary to School District No. 83, North Okanagan-Shuswap. The bursaries provided by the funds will be awarded to a student in each district who intends to pursue further academic or vocational education, is of good character, has demonstrated community involvement, citizenship, and leadership, and is in need of financial assistance.
Both funds are open to contributions at any time.
When you meet Glen Larson you are struck by his sharp wit, engaging personality, and his zest for life. Born in 1933 in Tribune, SK, he was one of 13 siblings raised by George (Johan) Victor and Esther (neé Johnson) Larson.
In 1946 the family moved to BC, eventually settling on a five- acre property in South Canoe in 1951. Farming larger acreages was just too hard on George’s heart. Glen graduated from Salmon Arm Consolidated High School in 1952.
His ambition was to become a lawyer but his father’s death in 1953 put paid to that. He became the breadwinner for his widowed mother and a younger brother still in high school.
In 1956 Glen accepted an offer to go to Technical school in Montreal. The two-year course was compressed into one year. Relatively few made the grade but Glen was one of them. He achieved a First-Class Radio Operator Certificate, as well as training in Meteorology, Electronic Design and Repair, and Civil Engineering. Upon graduation he went to work for the Federal Government as a Radio Operator, Weather Observer and Electronics Technician in Montreal.
Hana was born in Salmon Arm to Achiro (Archie) and Take (neé Yoshikawa) Tanemura, the fifth of 10 siblings. She graduated from Salmon Arm Consolidated High School in 1949 then attended Normal School in Victoria.
Glen and Hana were married for 59 years. They met in 1954 when he was helping Hana’s brother spray strawberries on the Tanamura family farm here in Salmon Arm. Their first date was at a wind-up party for the softball team that Glen played on and Hana’s brother Ken coached. Hana was teaching school in Surrey, but she and Glen dated when she came home to visit her parents. When Glen went to Montreal in 1956, they maintained contact via Canada Post, and when he returned to BC in 1957, he quickly looked up Hana and the romance resumed. They were married on August 1,1959, and had two children: Spencer, b. November 12, 1960, d. January 13, 1979, and Jill, b. June 29, 1965, d. May 21, 2017.
As a government employee Glen was transferred to postings throughout BC. From Terrace, the family moved to Princeton in 1968. Hana resumed teaching and they bought a 52-acre farm. Besides maintaining the farm Glen busied himself serving on the Regional District Board and the Princeton & Regional Hospital Board while also being the Officer-in- Charge/Maintenance Supervisor for Princeton Airport and associated telecom facilities. The eight years in Princeton held a special place in the hearts of the Larson family.
In 1976 Glen was transferred to Victoria Airport as Electronics Supervisor for Telecom and Navigation Aids for Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii and up the coast as far a Bella Bella and Bella Coola. During the eight years Glen spent travelling up and down the coast, the family lived in Sidney. His final position was as a Technical Consultant for the Radar Modernization Program (RAMP) in the Vancouver regional office of Transport Canada. He retired in 1989, and he and Hana came back to the Shuswap, settling in Salmon Arm in 2012.
Hana had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2008. She entered care in Mt. Ida Mews in 2014, where she died on November 19, 2018. Glen visited her daily, bringing her treats, helping her eat, and making sure she was well cared for.
Glen and Hana greatly valued education, so in 2018 the Larson Family Endowment was established in memory of Hana, Jill, and Spencer. It will provide a bursary to School District No. 58, Nicola-Similkameen. In March of 2020 Glen established the Hana and Glen Larson Endowment, which will provide a bursary to School District No. 83, North Okanagan-Shuswap. The bursaries provided by the funds will be awarded to a student in each district who intends to pursue further academic or vocational education, is of good character, has demonstrated community involvement, citizenship, and leadership, and is in need of financial assistance.
Both funds are open to contributions at any time.
Donate to this fund
Donations to this fund can be made by e-transfer (preferred), by cheque, donated securities, in person at any SASCU branch, through a gift of securities, or online through CanadaHelps.
