Lawrence O. Fine

RAPID CITY - Lawrence O. Fine died on November 23rd at Rapid City Hospice House after a courageous battle with stomach cancer. Lawrence (Larry) was the son of Charles W. and Tina H. (Otteson) Fine. He was born May 14, 1917 on the farm which his parents pioneered from North Dakota prairie in 1914 in Benson Country near Sheyenne, ND. He completed high school in 1933 and farmed and fur trapped with his father and older brother Winfield for 2 years. Larry then entered college at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University) in Fargo, completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Soil Science, with minors in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Botany in 1938. He entered post-graduate study in Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, completing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in June, 1941, with a major in Soil Science and minors in Plant Physiology and Chemistry. On August 21, 1941, Larry and Phyllis H. Andersen were married in Stoughton, WI. After work on soil surveys in the Menominee Indian Reservation and Grant and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin and John County, Illinois, he moved to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in the Agronomy Department to undertake work on biochemical specificity of cotton genotypes. In November 1942 he joined the Naval Reserve. After duty at Tucson, AZ, Norman OK, Pensacola, FL, and Anacostia, MD, he saw duty at land-based naval air stations, and two tours of duty at the Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Ocean Area (JICPOA) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He served as photo interpreter in the 3rd Fleet intelligence service commanded by Admirals Spruance and Turner, aboard the aircraft carrier Monterey. He was discharged from the Navy in September 1945 as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade. After a period of leave on the farm in North Dakota, he returned to the University of Arkansas for a year of teaching and soil research. Larry and family moved to South Dakota State College (now University) at Brookings SD in 1946, where he worked in the Agronomy Department until his retirement in 1982. He taught courses in soil science and conservation, and conducted research in soil chemistry, soil physics, irrigation, fertility, and trace elements in nutrition. He served as Department Head from 1958 to 1969, and ran the water quality laboratory under the Water Resources Institute of South Dakota from 1972 to 1982. During his soil and water research years he published 23 nationally referred research papers and many bulletins and circulars of studies on chemistry and management of soil and water. He served a period of temporary duty at the United States Salinity Laboratory in Riverside, CA in 1956, and did a sabbatical term at Washington State University, Pullman in 1969. During his professional career he guided many graduate students from the U.S. and other nations. After retirement he did research and consultant work for the Northern Border Pipe Line Co. and the City of Rapid City (Waste Management) until 1996. His wife Phyllis died in November 1978. Larry married Margaret A. (MarGee) Walker of Sturgis on March 21, 1987. They lived initially in Brookings, then moved to Silver City in 1991, and Rapid City in 2001. MarGee died in April of 2007. He was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America, and the American Institute of Chemists, and was a member of many other academic and professional associations. During his years in Brookings, Larry taught Sunday School at the First Lutheran Church, and was president of the congregation for several years. He was a charter member of the "Golden K" Kiwanis Club for retired people. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed camping and canoeing in the wilderness. Larry is survived by a sister, Elizabeth (Bette) Staub of Longview WA, a brother and sister-in-law James O. and Darlene Fine of Bismarck, ND, and a sister-in-law Roberta Fine of Rockford, IL; by his 3 daughters Glynn E. Bartels and husband Keith of Mitchell, SD, Barbara S. (Sue) Fine and husband Paul Vierbickas, of Pleasant Hill, CA, and Laura L. Fine and partner Dick Brudvig, of Minneapolis, MN; by 3 granddaughters Kristin (Bartels) Mobley and husband Bryon and their daughter Taylor, and Whitney Bartels of Denver, CO, and Kendra Vierbickas of Roslyn, NY; and by his stepdaughter Sharon (Shari Walker) Keffler and her son John of Sturgis and his stepson Steve Walker, his wife Julie, and their daughters Rachel and Dana of Half Moon Bay, CA, as well as many nieces and nephews, and sisters- and brothers-in-law from his 2 marriages. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wives Phyllis and MarGee, his brothers Winfield and his wife Isa of St. Paul, MN, and Robert of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, brother-in-law Larry Staub of Longview, WA, and sister-in-law Nellie Fine of Sheyenne, ND (first wife of James). Visitation will be at Osheim-Catron Funeral Home, 2700 Jackson Boulevard in Rapid City, from 5 to 7 pm on Tuesday, the 27th of November. Funeral services will be at the Big Bend Presbyterian Church on West Highway 44 in Johnson Siding on Wednesday, the 28th of November at 10:30 am, with Rev. Bob Savot officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the church. There will also be a visitation at Rude's Funeral Home in Brookings at 105 West 8th Street South from 1 to 3 pm on Friday, the 30th of November, followed by interment at the First Lutheran Cemetery in Brookings. The family suggests memorials to be given to the Rapid City Hospice House, the Silver City Volunteer Fire Department, or to the SDSU Foundation for the Dr. Lawrence O. Fine Scholarship at South Dakota State University. Friends may sign her online guest register and leave condolence wishes through www.osheimcatron.com..