David Jon Larsen

June 12, 1935 - June 23, 2020

David Jon Larsen passed peacefully in the arms of his daughters at his home on Potrero Hill, SF. He was 85.

Born to Stanley and Fern (Fuller) Larsen in Minneapolis, Minnesota. David and his siblings Jim and Judy were raised there until the family moved to California in 1948, by way of Denver, Colorado. They settled in Walnut Creek where David graduated from Acalanes High School in 1953. He attended Lassen Community College and Cal Berkeley where he enjoyed playing soccer.

Aware of a “taste for salt” he sailed his first ship in 1956 to Europe via a Norwegian Line. There he met his lifelong friend and shipmate Quinto Biardi. He continued sailing off and on through 2010, the last 5 years for the Sailors Union of the Pacific. He served in the Army (1957) where he was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.

He married Karen Robertson in 1963 in Berkeley, CA. The family including step daughter Lael, and daughters, Berit and Inga, lived in Santa Cruz where he was a carpenter until 1971. He was part of the Felton Guild as a builder and lived on San Miguel Island, for a research mission in the late 70’s. He built, lived and worked at Calera Winery in Hollister until he retired in 2001. He then moved to Half Moon Bay where he lived with his daughter, B and family. He volunteered at Ano Nuevo and at the Liberty Ship, Jeremiah O’Brien. He moved to SF in 2014 and took over the Andrew Furuseth School of Seamanship where he taught splices and knots. Cheerful and kind, committed to friends and family as well as to the earth and its history, David was a lifelong learner, builder, researcher, traveller and lover of the sea. As a family, we will miss him dearly. He was a good person, the kind you don’t meet too often. David was a grateful member of AA with over 39 years of sobriety.

David is survived by his two daughters, Berit (B) Larsen of HMB and Inga Larsen (Radouane Sadrane) and step-daughter Lael Robertson (Peter Walbridge) of SF. Dedicated Papa to nine grandchildren; JD and Rachel Parrish, Xander Walbridge, Oona and Celia Robertson, Enrico and

Tomas Nuno, and Samir and Zahra Sadrane; and to one great granddaughter Jaden Harvey; Survived by his Nephew and Niece, Peter (Joan Wulf, Ella and Clare) and Kristan Larsen, children of his late brother Jim and sister Judy (Jerry) Edwards and their sons Michael, Douglas and Brian Edwards, and ex-wife Karen Larsen.

His ashes will be released to the sea as a memorial. To support go to https://www. ssjeremiahobrien.org/