Libertyville was Larson's life

Years ago, a neighbor regularly left messages for Libertyville High School administrators complaining about the back gate to the school grounds being left open.

After awhile, Superintendent Don Gossett invited him over and suggested he talk with fellow administrator Dean Larson. After 20 minutes or so of one of Larson's legendary discourses - this one about Native Americans who once lived in the area - the flummoxed man left and was not heard from again.

"After that, I always called Dean my secret weapon," the long-retired Gossett joked during the eulogy of his friend of nearly 45 years.

Those who attended Larson's funeral Tuesday morning at Grace Lutheran Church couldn't help but chuckle. Anyone who had ever met Larson knew they better have time to listen if you asked a question.

Larson, 78, died Thursday, his legacy as one of Libertyville's staunchest supporters long established. With no close relatives, the solitary but memorable character had made the community his family.

Larson had some quirks but his quest for knowledge never wavered. His absence will be noticed, mourners said.

"To describe Dean in one word would not be easy," said Pastor Gordon Cavers. "Behind his seriousness was a clever and sometimes sarcastic sense of humor."

Richard Johnson remembered his cousin arriving long ago in Palos Park for holiday dinners, his car loaded with odds and ends. He invariably would sport a wry smile and the look of someone on an adventure.

For Larson, every detail and nuance of whatever he was involved with was important - something to be investigated, researched, recorded and inevitably, shared in detail with anyone who asked.

Johnson said it was wrong to describe Larson as having a small family.

"He loved this community so much and he had the biggest family I have ever seen," said Johnson, an array of current village officials and old friends nodding in agreement.

In his youth, Larson was a chief of radar and computer maintenance in the U.S. Army, long before electronics were a household necessity. Yet on almost any given day, he could be found at Cook Memorial Public Library literally cutting and pasting research materials the old-fashioned way.

Having served as a high school administrator for more than 30 years, Larson was elected a village trustee in 1993 and remained on the board until resigning for health reasons last year.

History was a passion throughout his long career. He was involved with the Libertyville-Mundelein Historical Society for nearly 50 years and received a lifetime achievement aware from the Illinois State Historical Society.

"I am confident Dean is already filling up some of those heavenly rooms with newspaper articles and photographs," Cavers said.

Befitting that interest, village staff had assigned him a pass code for the copy machine they knew Larson would never forget: 1882, the year Libertyville was incorporated.