Richard J. Larson

Richard Jeffrey Larson, age 89, died on August 25, 2024, from a fall at his home in Prestbury. He was born February 27, 1935, to Jeffrey and Malene Larson in Earlville, Illinois. He was raised in the Earlville area, attended a one room grade school for seven years, and graduated from the Earlville grade and high schools. He attended Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1957. He then earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1960. During his last year in law school, Dick joined the Illinois Air National Guard and was assigned to the 169th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Peoria. After passing the bar exam in 1960, he attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, served in the guard for six years, achieved the rank of Captain and became Legal Officer. Dick's guard unit was activated October 1, 1961, during the Berlin Crisis.
Dick married Irma Niederwimmer on June 25, 1961. They were married for 63 years. Dick is survived by Irma; son, Mark, of Yorkville, IL; daughter, Anne, of Chicago, IL; son-in-law, Joshua Vincent; grandsons, Christopher Larson and Benjamin Larson; sister-in-law, Helen Corbett; nephews, Jeffrey (Janet) Carter and Bradley (Joyce) Carter; and nieces Jane Hille, Jennifer (Charles) Zaluckyj and Julie Siddique. Dick was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, a sister and a brother-in-law.
Dick joined the Aurora law firm of O'Brien, Burnell, Puckett and Barnett in 1961 and was made a partner three years later. The firm subsequently became Puckett, Barnett, Larson, Mickey, Wilson and Ochsenschlager. In 1989, Gary Mickey, Bernie Weiler and Dick formed the law firm of Larson, Mickey and Weiler. In 1991, the Circuit Judges of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit appointed Dick an Associate Judge and he assumed the bench on February 22, 1991. The Illinois Supreme Court then appointed Dick a Circuit Judge effective August 3, 2006. Dick retired as a Circuit Judge on November 30, 2008, after nearly eighteen years on the bench.
During his judicial years, Dick received the Community Service Award from the Kane County Bar Association of which he was a member from 1961 to the date of his death. He was on the initial board of the Kane County Bar Foundation.
As a judge, Dick served in almost every division of the Kane County Circuit Court. The Chief Judge selected Dick for the positions of Presiding Judge of the Family Division, Presiding Judge of the Traffic Division, and Supervising Judge of Arbitration. Dick attended the National Judicial College, Reno, Nevada, and returned in subsequent years as a group facilitator of the General Jurisdiction course and as a faculty assistant for the Mediation course.
Prior to his judicial career, Dick served on many community boards: Association for Individual Development (President); United Way of the Aurora Area; Mental Health and Retardation Services, Inc.; Copley Memorial Hospital Board of Directors; Copley Memorial Hospital Health Care Foundation; Waubonsee Community College Foundation; and the Prestbury Citizens Association. He was United Way Campaign Chairman in 1978 and Copley Memorial Hospital Fund Drive Chairman in 1981. He was elected to the Wartburg College Alumni Association Board in 1975, served four years, and was president his last year. Dick received a Wartburg Alumni Board Citation for Leadership and Service to Community, Church and College in 1984.
Dick was a member of the Batavia Rotary Club since 1996 and twice received the club's Rotarian of the Year Award. He was selected in 2009 to serve as Governor of Rotary District 6440, and served as its Governor-Nominee, but resigned during his Governor-Elect year for health reasons. He was active in the District for many years, including Chairman of the Legislative Advisory Committee for five years.
Dick served as a Kane County Republican Precinct Committeeman for 23 years, was chairman of the Aurora Township Republican Central Committee and chairman of the Kane County Republican Central Committee. He was elected by Republican voters in the 14th Congressional District to the Illinois Republican State Central Committee and was an elected delegate to the Republican National Conventions for Presidents Ford, Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
After his retirement, Dick planned and supervised the construction of a second home on a heavily wooded, six-acre lot with a limestone bluff overlooking the Bay of Green Bay in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. He called the home his "Shangri-La" and especially enjoyed watching the change of colors in the fall and the spectacular sunsets over the bay. He was also an avid gardener with a very gifted "green thumb."
Dick was an active member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Aurora, since 1962 and served on three church councils, including twice as president. St. Mark's had a profound spiritual effect on Dick's life, both personally and professionally.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Aurora, Illinois. Visitation with the family and lunch will be held at the church after the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the St. Mark's Lutheran Church Memorial Fund.