Paul B. Larsen

1909 - 2008

Paul B. Larsen was born March 22, 1909, in Preston, Idaho, a son of J.N. and Ellen Larsen.
He passed away quietly and without pain Oct. 27, 2008, at home just hours after spending time with his family. He spent his childhood in Preston, graduating from Preston High School in 1926. He attended Utah State Agricultural College, now Utah State University, for three years, served an LDS mission in England for two years, which he determined as one of the greatest experiences of his life, and then completed college in 1933. Later he attended law school at George Washington University but did not finish due to the economic times and chose to remain home to assist his family after his first year. He was affiliated with the Delta Nu fraternity, now Sigma Nu; and was a member of Blue Key, Alpha Kappa Psi (business), Pi Delta Epsilon (journalism), and Phi Delta Kappa (Senior Honorary) fraternities. He was manager of the school paper and a member of the varsity swim team.
After returning from his mission he remodeled a building in Preston into what was called the best "Open Air" dance facility and dance band in the valley called Paul's Dance Band with the slogan "Hot – Hot - Harmony." He loved music and played the clarinet and sax, which he shared with his children and grandchildren, some of whom played them, also. He taught math at Preston Jr. High and math and commercial law at Preston High for two years. He moved to Boise to become a loan negotiator with the Home Owner's Loan Corporation. He married Iretta Elizabeth Nokleby on June 28, 1935, in Boise after months of dating precipitated by a blind date. According to Paul, he was the envy of all his fraternity brothers and friends whenever he would introduce them to his sweetheart, Iretta. Later their marriage was solemnized in the Logan LDS Temple. In December of 1936 they moved to Minneapolis, Minn., where Paul became a farm sales supervisor with the Union Central Life Insurance Co. Their first child, a son, Kim, was born the following May.
In December of 1942, Paul joined the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant J.G. and served in the Asia-Pacific Theater and was released in January of 1946 as an Air Navigator with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. During this time he invented a navigational instrument that was used by the Navy for years until flight technology became more perfected.
In 1949 Paul founded the Paul B. Larsen Real Estate Company in Boise. The company consisted of separated residential and commercial departments, the first of its kind in the valley. His specialty was marketing motels and hotels in the western states until his semi-retirement in 1982. A few years later he retired to play golf and gin rummy with his best friends and to travel the world with his sweetheart, Iretta. He trained many of the prominent real estate brokers in Boise during the years they worked in his company. His peers and clients respected him for his work ethic, honesty, wisdom and great sense of humor. One couldn't spend much time around Paul without liking him. He was very active in local and national real estate organizations, having served as president of the Boise Board of Realtors (now Ada County Association of Realtors), president of the Idaho Real Estate Brokers Board (now Idaho Association of Realtors), vice president of National Board of Realtors (now National Association of Realtors) and president of the Motel Brokers Association of America (now International Hotel Brokers). Paul was chosen as the first "Realtor of the Year" for Boise and the State of Idaho and considered by hotel and motel brokers throughout the U.S. as the one who was responsible for more hotel and motel sales than any other broker in the country.
Paul was active in civic and community affairs and was a past member of the Lions Club, a founding member of the Optimist Club, a member of the Hillcrest Country Club and the Arid Club. He was loved and respected by the older youth of his church as he taught Sunday School and was a Priesthood Quorum Adviser to the 16- to 18-year-old boys for many years. They appreciated the unique way he presented his pragmatic view of the world and the blessing that the church was in their lives. Outings with the boys were not complete without him showing his 16 mm movies of their events. He loved his family and found time to integrate his love for fishing, hunting, water skiing and golf with them. In his later years he spent personal time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, telling them stories of his life to entertain and enrich their relationship and teaching them how to help themselves and build confidence. He lived to be 99 years old, just less than 5 months short of reaching his goal of 100. Amazingly so, that is one of the few goals he didn't complete in his life.
During the later years he was an inspiration to family and friends through his example of quiet suffering from macular degeneration and a loving attitude toward all of his family. He learned how t