DeLyle L. Larson

DeLyle L. Larson was born in Sioux Falls, S.D., on September 23, 1943 and slipped away suddenly but peacefully from this life to the next on August 30, 2018, at his home in Thompson Falls.

He was raised on a cattle ranch in Clear Lake, S.D., where he graduated high school. He was an Army veteran, serving in Germany, where he was discharged in 1967. He excelled at the Detroit Lakes, Minn., Vocational Sign Painting program.

He married Cathy Wolverton on June 25, 1982, and they welcomed their daughter, Kimberly, in Jamestown, N.D., in 1986. They moved to Clarkston, Wash., in 1989 and later relocated to Heron, Mont., where they raised their daughter and co-owned and operated The Maverick House Cafe on Highway 200. A chance encounter in 1994 led to a deep and lasting friendship when he painted his first logging truck for Wayne Dykstra Logging, Inc.

DeLyle and Cathy moved to Thompson Falls in February 2006, where he continued to paint heavy equipment for Wayne. Nicknames were bandied about as Wayne and DeLyle worked together and developed their friendship. "Your Man Friday," "7 Wide," "Don't Start With Me," were all phrases that will resonate for years to come. DeLyle and Wayne shared some memorable trips. One in particular had them all "Sea-daddling" around the Seattle I-90 and 405 Interchange where they had picked up one of DeLyle's Cadillacs.

DeLyle was a sight to behold on any particular Sunday when he would arrive at church. He would unbend his tall frame from his Cadillac, boots first, Sunday suit emerging next. His head of white hair completed the picture. "If a picture paints a thousand words, then how can I paint you" is a fitting phrase for an independent man who led a rich but simple life.

After daughter Kim had been living in Kalispell awhile, DeLyle and Wayne made a trip there to help with a move. On the way home, DeLyle, in his quiet way, said, "I wonder why 'that guy' was hanging around." "That guy" would later turn out to be Kim's husband, Luke, whom DeLyle would love like a son. DeLyle was incredibly proud and happy to spend time with those two and his precious grandchildren. He so loved being "Papi" to Elena and Cole.

DeLyle was a family man in every sense of the word. For many years, even though he did not care for crowds, he would board a train in Whitefish, Mont., and ride out to Valley City, N.D., to visit his brother Daryl and wife Rosie - often for a month or longer. These visits meant everything to him and he came home with precious memories.

He took loving care of his ailing wife for many years. Following her death, he voluntarily drove some recipients of The Friends of Cathy, (a foundation that had been set up to support them when Cathy had fallen ill), back and forth to treatments. As important as spending time with his family and giving back to his community was, DeLyle's house was truly his castle. He was never happier than when he was in his home on the mountain near Wayne and Nancy and the workshop he so loved. His presence will be sorely missed by so many but there is comfort in knowing he is in a better place.

DeLyle was preceded in death by his parents, Gladys and Elmer, brothers Marlin and Wayne, and his wife, Cathy. He is survived by brother Daryl Larson (Rosie) of Valley City, N.D.; daughter Kim Martinez (Luke) and two grandchildren, Elena and Cole of Kalispell, Mont.; and a son Trevor of Minnesota. Extended family consisting of in-laws (and outlaws he would say!) and nieces and nephews, also survive to mourn his passing.

Memorial is Saturday, September 15 at 1 p.m., at Heron Baptist Church, 17 Lower River Road in Heron, MT, Joe Martinez of Neuquen, Argentina, officiating. Services and support provided by Sunset Funeral Home in Plains. Memorials can be mailed to Friends of Cathy, PO Box 4, Heron, MT 59844.