Samuel Clark Larsen

Samuel Clark Larsen was born January 16, 1954, and died February 2, 2024, two weeks after his 70th birthday.  Sam was born in Tulsa and spent his childhood in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, where he attended school at Cleveland, Taft, and Northwest Classen.  In grade school, he performed at the Lyric Theater as one of the Von Trapp children in the Sound of Music and had another role in Damn Yankees.   He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in political science and played on the rugby team.  Sam held a variety of jobs during his life, mostly in politics and marketing.  Some political highlights include being a master of ceremonies for President Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign appearances in Oklahoma, which led to working at the Executive Office for the Reagan White House.  He was also finance director for U.S. Senator Don Nickles’ first senatorial election, and he was the Oklahoma County campaign manager for U.S. Senator Henry Belllmon.   His overriding passion, however, was art.  He was a talented visual artist and a gifted musician.   He loved people and could carry on a conversation with anyone.  He especially enjoyed children, leading his stepdaughter Emily and her friends in activities such as building a treehouse in the front yard and summer games of slip and slide baseball (a game that Sam invented).  Fourth of July parties, in which Sam and the neighborhood children would set off fireworks from a crudely constructed floating platform in the swimming pool, were legendary.   Sam loved to travel.  His favorite destinations were Paris, France and Abiquiu, New Mexico, which were the inspiration for much of his art.  He carried a sketchpad wherever he went, often drawing whoever was in front of him and then gifting the unwitting model with the finished sketch.  Sam was preceded in death by his father, Walter Larsen, Jr., and his mother, Maureen Calderwood Larsen.  Sam is survived by his wife of 30 years, Elaine Larsen, his stepdaughter Emily Stack and her partner, Jeff Crews, a brother, Walter Larsen III, a sister, Suzanne Larsen, stepmother Joyce Larsen, stepbrothers Jay Greaves and Jon Greaves and   stepsister Julie DeVercelly .  A celebration of Sam’s life will be held on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., at Smith and Kernke Funeral Home, 14624 N. May Avenue.  In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to ASPCA or to your own favorite charity.