Betty Larson

March 17, 1930 - August 3, 2019

Betty Larson Jefferson, Iowa Date of Death: August 3, 2019 Funeral Services for Betty Larson, 89, of Jefferson, Iowa will be 10:00 am Saturday, August 10, 2019 at the First Presbyterian Church in Jefferson. Interment will be at Franklin Township Cemetery, Cooper, Iowa. Visitation with the family present to greet friends will be from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Friday, August 9, 2019 at Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home in Jefferson. Memorials are suggested to Genesis or Greene County Medical Center. Betty Jeanne Schilling Larson was born March 17, 1930 at Jamaica, Iowa. She was one of five children born to Grace (Harvey) and Dewey Schilling. Betty grew up in Franklin Township, Greene County and graduated from Cooper High School in 1948. She attended a year of college at Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, Iowa. On January 29, 1950, Betty was united in marriage to Duane Harold Larson. Betty and Duane raised their family, and farmed in Franklin Township where they produced corn, soybeans, hay, cattle and hogs. From 1967 to 1971, Betty and Duane participated in an American / Japanese agricultural program which linked them to four young Japanese men, all students of Agriculture, who lived with the Larson family for nearly one year each. In later years, Betty and Duane visited all four men and their families in their respective homes in Japan. To this day, the Larsons remain in contact with Shigenobu Miyauchi of Kochi-Ken, Japan. Betty served as a girl’s 4-H leader for several years, and taught Sunday school at the Jefferson Methodist Church. She worked at Virginia’s Clothing Store in Perry for a few years, then worked for many years as a travel agent for Fun Travel of Jefferson, and led trips and tours throughout the United States and abroad. Betty was a member of the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission for nine years. She served on the Greene County Farm Service (FSA) Board, was an ombudsman at Regency Park Nursing and Rehab in Jefferson, and served as co-chair of the Greene County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee. She was an avid reader, and believed in being an active participant of the political process. Betty Larson died August 3, 2019 in Jefferson, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her husband, Duane, who died January 31, 2017; her parents; brother, Dewey Schilling, Jr; and two sisters: Frances Safley and Bonnie Blaugh. She is survived by four children: daughter Lin Pole and son-in-law John, of Birchwood, WI; daughter Laine Custer and son-in-law Tom, son Lindsey Larson and daughter-in-law Debra, and son Loel Larson and daughter-in-law Sandy, all of Jefferson, Iowa; sister, Bea Freeman of Jefferson, IA; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Online condolences may be left at www.sliningerschroeder.com. Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home 515-386-2171