James Larson

1952 - 2025

Jim (Lars) Larson recently died of natural causes on his liveaboard sailboat, the Kristin Marie, on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. He was surrounded by the crystal waters of Seapath Yacht Club in Wrightsville Beach, NC - just off the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River. Jim is remembered as an affable, creative, and hands-on person by friends and family alike.

Jim was born on October 15, 1952, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the son of Myrtle (Campbell) and Jerry Larson. He spent his youth in Iron Range Township of Northern Minnesota and was a good student at Taconite Grade School. After his parents relocated to Bovey, Jim, a guard on the football team, graduated from Greenway High School in 1971. After a brief stint at Itasca Community College, he enlisted in the Army and served as a heavy vehicle mechanic in a mechanized unit in Bavaria, Germany.

Returning home to support his mother through his father's illness, Jim worked as a lineman for Minnesota Power prior to earning his Industrial Engineering Degree at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He subsequently relocated to the Phoenix area and worked in manufacturing. He later found his calling as an on-site project manager for nuclear power plants, overseeing maintenance and retrofits. His free time was spent in and around sailboats in coastal North Carolina.

He balanced his engineering career with his time on his boats, including time as a charter captain. Jim was rigorous in his professional work; he was a "hands on" person including time spent inside nuclear reactors with his radiologic badge clipped to his chest. So if you said Jim was "bright", you were right!

In addition to sailing, his interests included downhill skiing in New England, scuba diving, membership in a hunting club, wrenching on old sports cars, and briefly dabbling with golf. When he wasn't busy with his numerous hobbies, you could find him on the boat or dockside, enjoying time with his friends. He'd do anything for his friends; including building a clam/oyster cleaner for the marina seafood bakes and always seemed to have something special cooking. The Kristin Marie, a 37-foot Caribbean Sailing Yacht named after his sister, was called home, or according to Jim: "where I spend a lot of time." He was a "salty old dog" who once competed in Key West for the Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest.

Jim is preceded in death by his mother Myrtle, father Jerry and brother, Alan Larson. He is survived by sister, Kristin (Alan) Goodman, niece and nephews Kate Goodman, Jim (Laura) Goodman, Mark (Kirsten) Larson, and Jon Larson. His ashes are interred in Lakeview Cemetery, Coleraine, MN and scattered to the ocean currents of the Gulf Stream.