Larene Frances Hark

RICE - Larene Frances (Graf) Hark, age 94, passed away on July 7, 2025, surrounded by family at her home in rural Rice, MN. A celebration of Larene's well-lived life will be held at her residence on Saturday, August 16, 2:00-6:00 p.m.

Born July 17, 1931, to Irene and Larry Graf in South Bend, IN, she grew up the second of three children in a close-knit extended family, immersed in the Holy Cross Catholic Parish community. Larene's high school years at St. Joseph Academy were highlighted by being named May Queen as an 8th grader, and Queen of Senior Prom. She maintained lifelong connections from her time there.

In 1953, at 22 years old, Larene moved to Chicago to volunteer at Friendship House, an inner-city organization inspired by the Catholic Worker movement's commitment to social justice. She worked alongside people who became dear friends and inspiring mentors, her experiences solidifying values that informed her life going forward.

There Larene met Edwin Charles Hark. In 1955, they married in South Bend. Their first home was in New Troy, MI, where Ed taught high school. In 1959, they moved into the Vetville married-student housing at the University of Notre Dame, IN, where Ed was a graduate student - part of a dynamic group of young families. Throughout her life, Larene carried fond memories of and stayed in touch with Vetville friends.

Leaving Notre Dame, now with four children, they moved to St. Cloud where Ed taught at St. John's University, then at St. Cloud State. Two more children followed, and Larene oversaw the running of a lively household, navigating raising six kids in the 1960s-70s. Her significant creative impulses were realized through the personalized cards she created and artful ways she decorated her domestic environment.

For 30 years, they were active members of Christ Church Newman Center and participated in ecumenical communities. Together, they followed MN DFL and national Democratic Party politics. Larene worked for several years at St. Benedict Care Center facilitating activities for senior residents; her exemplary efforts were written up in the St. Cloud Times in 1983. Over decades, she quietly cared for several elderly women who lived alone, offering companionship while attending to their practical needs, as well as helping several Vietnamese refugee families reestablish homes in St. Cloud.

In 1988, Larene and Ed moved to their beloved Rice home on the Mississippi River. Here she again nurtured wonderful relationships among neighbors; every spring, she collected pussy willows, leaving bouquets on their porches. Beyond enjoying the river's beauty, oak trees, and deer that wandered through the yard, they continued contributing to their community while having fun; with cohorts, they gathered pickup-truck loads of potatoes left over in local fields for the food bank. Larene spent many hours volunteering at Catholic Charities. Alongside a group of girlfriends, she could occasionally be seen carrying war-protest signs on Division Street.

They traveled in their VW camper van to take part in Habitat for Humanity projects, took camping trips across the US, and enjoyed Elder Hostel programs nationally and internationally. In her later life, Larene visited grandchildren and children in Japan, Ghana, and South Korea. Her last years were spent at home close to family and friends, appreciating and expressing surprise and gratitude for the bounty of her life.

Larene was predeceased by her husband Edwin Hark, brother Michael Graf, sister Jean Marie Gryp, and grandson Hansi Wachtler. She will always be lovingly remembered by her children: Mary Hark of St. Paul; Maureen Hark (John Wachtler) of St. Paul; Thomas Hark of Williston, VT; Daniel Hark (Nicole Oksun Hwang) of Seoul, South Korea; Peter Hark (Becky Guneratne) of St. Paul; and Paul Hark (Beth McInerny) of Inver Grove Heights. Also, by her grandchildren Amara, Korine, Irene, Eli, Zachary, Anna Rose, Arlo, Antonia, Alden, Henry, and Vivian; and by her great-grandchildren Fern, Edwin, and Ammi.

Larene donated her body to the University of Minnesota, and she will be buried at a later date in the cemetery at Annunciation Catholic Church in Mayhew Lake Township. If you would like to make a donation to honor Larene, please consider contributing to the social justice cause of your choice.