Eldon Larson, 82, died on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at Northwest Medical Center, CNC Unit, Thief River Falls, MN.

Funeral service will be at 10:30 A.M. on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 at Redeemer Lutheran in Thief River Falls, MN Reverend Joseph Abrahamson officiating. Burial will be at the Community Cemetery in St. Hilaire, MN.

Visitation will be from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Monday, May 1, 2006 at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls, MN with a 7:00 P.M. prayer service on Monday evening and at the church for one hour prior to service.

Eldon Luverne Larson was born on a farm in rural Red Lake County on July 10, 1923, the son of Gust and Elsie (Erickson) Larson. He was baptized into the Lutheran faith by Pastor O. J. Rundell in St. Hilaire, MN. He attended country school in River Falls Township. In 1936 he moved to a farm in Norden Township in Pennington County with his family. Eldon attended and graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls in 1941.

He farmed with his family for a few years before he entered the Navy during World War II. He served as a medical orderly and ambulance driver in San Diego, CA and Jacksonville, FL until his Honorable Discharge in 1945.

On October 30, 1949 he was married to Joan Soiney at Rindahl Church. They made their home in Thief River Falls, and a farm west of Thief River Falls, before moving to a farm near St. Hilaire, MN in 1959. On June 9, 1979 he was married at the Clearwater Church, rural Oklee, to Joyce Acker. He lived on the farm near St. Hilaire until being admitted to the hospital on April 21, 2006.

Eldon worked for the Thief River Falls Co-Op Creamery for over 27 years until it closed in 1976. While working at the creamery, he won several awards for excellence in butter making, including winning the Grand Championship at the state fair in 1969. He was also recently honored at the Pennington County Historical Society in July of 2005 for his achievements during his time at the creamery. Eldon donated his awards and medals to the local Historical Center at that time.

In 1978 Eldon went to work for Thygeson Construction in Thief River Falls, driving gravel truck until he retired in 1994, and continued to work on the farm. After his retirement, he led a very active life, keeping cattle, large flower and vegetable gardens and enjoyed yard work and feeding birds. He was a passionate hunter and fisherman, hunting geese with his sons by the Agassiz Refuge, ice fishing with the gang at Lake of the Woods, or catching crappies in the spring at Maple Lake. His favorite time of years was deer hunting season, and always had good stories to tell of hunts gone by. Even when his health was failing he would manage to make it to the deer woods and sit all day and still be happy if he didnt fire a shot.

Eldon was an accomplished musician, playing the accordion and piano. He played his first dance at Holt when he was 16, along with his brother, Stanley on banjo. Perry Christie on the fiddle, and George Asp on the guitar. They were given the name Smoky Mountain Boys at a talent contest sponsored by KFGO Radio at the auditorium in Thief River Falls, and kept the name through many changes for over 50 years. In the early days there were few dance halls that had electricity, so Eldon carried a gas-powered generator with him to power the microphones, amplifiers and P.A. system. After the war, Eldon started playing for dances again with his brother, Stanley, and Joe Soiney joined them on drums. Also joining the band at that time were Iver Asseby on saxophone and Jolly Asseby on rhythm and steel guitar. Some of the musicians to play in the band were Harold Wasley, Orin Ranum, Wendy Ortloff, Stanley and Duke Erickson, Harry Peterson, Chris Drees and Leo Dufault. At this time they played for service clubs almost every weekend throughout northwestern Minnesota and western North Dakota.

In 1969 Eldons brother Stanley decided to retire and Eldon took a brief break from playing. Joe Soiney then formed a band with Mylan Abrahamson on guiter and vocals, DuWayne Thygeson on accordion, Lawrence Knutson on guitar, and Virgil Mercil on steel guitar. This was known as the Joe Soiney Band . Eldon rejoined the band in 1969 after the death of Lawrence Knutson. When Joe left the band for health reasons, John Brahosky became the drummer and vocalist. When Joe died in 1981 they went back to the "Smokey Mountain Boys" name. Gerald Swaser became their drummer when John Brohosky left the band for other commitments. In 1991 they recorded a cassette of their music at a studio owned by Maury Finney in East Grand Forks, including both new and old time music. In later years Eldon would play for early dances with Mylan Abrahamson, and Bob Skoglund for the many people who still want to hear and dance to old time music.

Eldon was a wonderful husband, father, stepfather, grandfather and great-grandfather who will truly be missed by all those who loved him. He was a member of Oak Park Lutheran Church, American Legion Ecklund-Holmstrom Post 117 and the Eagles Club in Thief River Falls.

Eldon is survived by his wife, Joyce Larson of St. Hilaire, MN; three sons: Chuck (Carolyn) Larson, Bill (Denise) Larson and Danny (Marge) Larson, all of Thief River Falls, MN; step children: Susan (Max) Wade of Fairbanks, AK, Michael (Sharla) Acker of Denver, CO and Nathan (Brenda) Acker of Roseau, MN; 16 step grandchildren; 21 step great-grandchildren; and many relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Stanley.