Helen I. Larson, 91, former resident of Harrisburg, passed away Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Mt. Airy, Md.
Her memorial service was Tuesday, July 19, at the George Boom Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Sioux Falls, with interment of the urn at Pleasant View Cemetery in Harrisburg. Visitation was also Tuesday at the funeral home with family present from 9-10 a.m.
Helen Irene Dirks, daughter of Charley and Bessie (Brown) Dirks, was born Jan. 27, 1925, in Harrisburg. She graduated from Harrisburg High School in 1943 and began work at Western Surety Company in Sioux Falls. While there, she had the opportunity to attend computer schooling in the Twin Cities.
Helen was united in marriage with Duane Larson on Sept. 27, 1946, in Harrisburg. After her children reached school age, she went back to work at the Computer Center on the campus of the University of South Dakota from 1961 to 1972. Helen and Duane lived in Pierre for two years and Mitchell for six years before returning to Harrisburg in 1980. In June of 2013, Helen moved to her son’s home in Mt. Airy, where she resided the last three years of her life.
She is survived by her children, Jerry (Maggie) Larson of Mt. Airy, Md., Sandi Glenn of Harrisburg, and Jeff (Susan) Larson of Mitchell; eight grandchildren; several great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Duane in 2010; an infant son, Jimmy David Larson; her parents; and nine siblings, Richard, Howard, Warren, Calvin, Herbert, Margaret and Alfred Dirks, Ethel Risty, and Lois Husman.