Virgil "Pete" P. Larson

Virgil Peder Larson died April 12, 2025, at Lilac Memory Care, Moorhead, after he fought desperately to breathe long enough to see both of his daughters, Birgit and Bjorg, one last time. He loved them so, had so much fun raising them and was proud of the people they became as he too grew with them.

He also was proud to be a 100-percent Norwegian and come from the family who raised him right. “That’s Peder with a ‘D’ - after my grandfather who came from Norway” he often said.

Pete and his wife, Janice (Jelleberg) Larson of 50 years have lived on his grandparents homestead near Rollag for 11 years. It is where his mother, Helen (Huseby) Larson was born and raised - a sturdy home built for 13 children by his grandfather and family members. As a boy he gladly slept on a blanket at the top of the stairs - the last spot available - to help his uncles in the summer with cattle, horses and farming chores. His aunts fed him fully with heartiness from the garden, “Oh the cookies, cake and the rhubarb pie,” and the stories accented in their Norski tongues.

Virgil was born June 6, 1940, at his home in Lake Park, Minn., to Victor Oliver Larson, and Helen Mable (Huseby) Larson. His father was a water service mechanic with the Northern Pacific Railroad; his mother was a country school teacher. He graduated from Lake Park High School, where he enjoyed debate, baseball and football. He graduated from Moorhead State College, Moorhead, with a major in history.

His first job was to assist Theron Vigen at the Vigen Funeral Home, Lake Park, in high school and college. He also worked at KDLM radio station, Detroit Lakes, Minn., where he became interested in the news business.

In the U.S. Army, Pete served as a broadcast specialist including in Seoul Korea. Afterwards he joined the news department at Channel 11 Television, Fargo, N.D., where he wrote, edited and read the daily news.

He loved newspapers, the democracy they represented and the public they were meant to serve and inform as clearly and fairly as possible. He was able to work for The Forum for more than a decade as a reporter and a night-time editor. He covered several beats including the Moorhead Police, the Moorhead City Council and some state and national politics. It is where he met his wife, also a reporter there.

In 1985, Pete received a Gannett Newspaper Fellowship to study the Far East for a year in Honolulu, Hawaii. The stint took him to Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. 

Back home, he joined the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald as an editor and editorial writer.

He worked for nearly two dozen years as a writer and an editor at the Omaha World Herald, Omaha, Neb., from where he raised his family and retired. It was from here they went exploring the region, often hiking, camping and canoeing including in Canada. Their lives were rich enjoying everyday living and the ballet, soccer, symphony and school events their daughters took part in. He often made pancakes Saturday mornings. Sunday mornings were mostly spent at Lutheran Church of the Master, where he served as council president.

Pete and Jan moved to the Minnesota farmstead in 2013, where they have remodeled the original home, cross-country skied, walked about the woods and watched the many animals nearby.

Pete was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers, Victor (Arlene) Larson Jr., Duane (Audrey) Larson and Emery (Carol) Larson.

He leaves behind his wife and his daughters, Birgit (Matt) Larson Hammer, Beacon, N.Y., and Bjorg Larson (Sanjee Abeytunge), Williamsburg, Va. and three grandchildren, Beryl Hammer, and Aslak and Eyvind Abeytunge. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Larson, San Antonio, Texas, and his brother, Orris (Marlene) Larson, Moorhead; his sister-in-law, Audrey Larson, Litchfield, Minn, and brothers- and sisters-in-law, James and Patty Knudson, Wappingers Falls, N.Y; George and Alice Watland, Olympia, WA, and Dennis and Cheryl Jelleberg, Beulah, N.D.

An open house visitation will be held at 4 - 6 p.m. Thursday, April 17, followed at 6 p.m. by a prayer service at the Wright Funeral Home, 404 Leonard St., Hawley, Minn. The funeral with Livestream will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 18, preceded by a visitation at 10 a.m. at rural Hegland Lutheran Church, 25494 40th Ave. S, Hawley.

Memorials may be sent to Lilac Homes Memory Care, 2725 Parkview Drive, Moorhead, Minn., or the Hospice Care of the Red River Valley, 3800 56th Ave. S., Fargo, N.D.

Burial will be in Aspelund Cemetery, Rollag, MN.

A livestream will be available below at the time of the service.