Mary Jo Larsen

In the early morning hours of May 31, 2025, Mary Joan Larsen took flight to be with the Lord she loved so much. She was born on March 13, 1932, in Pierson, Iowa, to Esther Treptow Clark and Theron Ogden Clark. Mary Jo, as she was affectionately known, lived her life in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Colorado, including a year in California where she attended kindergarten. She graduated from Iowa City High and attended the University of Iowa. As a child in Minnesota, her family lived in a log cabin beside Lake Superior, where Mary Jo remembered chasing porcupines back into the woods with her brother, Dene. During 1940-44, her family lived at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, where she vividly remembered the build-up to World War II. She especially recalled the date of December 7th, 1941, with great clarity, when the news of Pearl Harbor interrupted Sunday dinner. In 1976, Mary Jo moved her family to Fort Collins, Colorado. As soon as she arrived, she felt like she was born to live there. This is where, at 43 years of age, Mary Jo came to know the Lord personally. On December 31, 1989, Mary Jo married Charles Ernest Larsen and found a place of safety and security she had never known before. Together they mentored and ministered to men and women “who needed them” – a prophecy that had been given to Mary Jo in 1978. Their years together were a testimony of the healing power and love of God. Mary Jo is survived by sons Mark Stewart, living in Illinois; Daniel Stewart (married to Jennievie), living in the Philippines; Campbell Stewart, living in Wisconsin; and Nelson Reeds (married to Chris), living in California. She also leaves behind her grandchildren: Sarah, Amy and Vickie, and Carl and Christopher. Her nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews were all prayed for daily as were her sons and their families. One of Mary Jo’s strongest desires, and deepest regrets, was for her children to know a solid home where a mother and father, together, created a strong foundation in which they could grow strong and secure. This did not happen for her sons, and it was also something she did not know growing up. Mary Jo joins her mother, Esther, in their new heavenly home. She is also preceded in death by her father, Theron; her husband whom she affectionately called Charlie; her brother, Dene Clark; and her sisters, Joyce Clark Trimble and Shelley Clark Penney. Mary Jo’s Memorial Service will begin at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, June 26, 2025 at the Leggett Legacy Garden, YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado.