Obituary of Larkin Laue

Larkin Walter Laue, 66, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on May 30, 2014, surrounded by his family at his home in Flagler. Larkin “Lark” was born on August 22, 1947 in Marysville, KS to Herman E. Laue, Jr. and Leona Mae (Downey) Laue. Lark lived with his parents, brothers Skip, Mike and Mark and sister Dina on the family farm 9 miles south of Greenleaf, KS until he was 10 years old. Lark loved his life on the farm. The kids grew up learning how to work hard. They milked cows and taking turns at the separator, fed goats, pigs and chickens, gathered eggs and churned butter. Even though they worked hard they still found plenty of time to go down to the creek fishing with his brothers, playing with erector sets and building models with his brother Mark. When they had a chance they loved spending time with their Grandpa and Grandma Downey in town. In 1957 Lark’s father accepted a position with Foster Lumber Co as a manager and bookkeeper in Torrington, WY and the family made the move. They lived there for two years and then Herman was transferred to Foster Lumber Co in Wiggins, CO. When in Wiggins the family became friends with Reinhart (Reiny) and Clara May Weimer. During his teenage years Lark began to work with Reiny who was a master carpenter. This is where his love for woodworking began to grow. Lark graduated from Wiggins High School in 1966 and then moved with his family to Stratton, CO. On January 27, 1967 Lark enlisted in the US Navy. Upon completion of boot camp in San Diego, he was sent to NAS Whidbey Island, WA, a sea plane base in northern Washington state, and spent a year there as part of a transportation unit. In May of 1968 Lark reported to the Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) in Davis Ville, RI and became part of the Navy Seabees MCB7 Battalion. He received E and E training along with combat training and then was deployed to Dong Ha, Vietnam for a year and was there through the grueling ’68 Tet offensive. After completing a year of service in Vietnam he returned to Davis Ville for retraining and to regroup. In the summer of 1969 Lark was told one of his brothers was to be sent to Vietnam so he requested to be reassigned for a second tour to keep him from going into that war zone. This time he was sent to Chu Lai, Vietnam until June of 1970 and then returned once again to NCBC in Davis Ville, RI. He was assigned to inactive duty in August of 1971. With a rank of E4, he received his honorable discharge on September 14, 1972. In August of 1971 Lark came back to eastern Colorado to be closer to his family and he moved to Flagler with the company he worked for. It was at this time he met his wife Rhonda. He says he fell in love with her right away but Rhonda always knew he fell in love with her dad as well, sharing his love for hunting and fishing. Lark and Rhonda were married on December 17, 1972 and moved to Fort Morgan where they lived for two years. They returned to Flagler in July of 1974. Lark and Rhonda were blessed with three children, Paula Jean in 1973, Korena Lou in 1976 and Nicholas Ray in 1978. His wife and children were the center of his life and loved it when they were all together. Lark accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior in January, 1980. Lark and Rhonda were baptized together in May of 1980. He and his family joined the Flagler Baptist church and became part of their church family in 1990. Lark worked at several jobs before starting his welding business in 1977. He grew up loving to play and work with erector sets and now he was able to do what he loved on a much bigger scale. He designed and drew schematics for big drill carriers and built many of them in his small shop over the years that he was there. In the late 80’s Lark went to work for Flagler Farm Equipment as their equipment set up technician. In 1999 FFE was sold to Kay Jan, Inc and Lark worked for the new company for about three years as an employee and then quit to become a self-employed carpenter. Even though he quit, he couldn’t shake the love he had for the JD equipment and contracted work for Kay Jan, Inc. once again as their equipment set-up technician and continued when the company merged and became 21st Century Equipment, where he worked up until he was no longer able to work in September of 2013. Lark was a carpenter at heart and over the years finished countless projects. His biggest accomplishment was to build on and remodel the home that he brought his family to when they came back to Flagler in 1974. His favorite place was the long front porch that he finished first so he had a place to rest when he was working on the rest of the house. Many homes in Flagler and the surrounding communities have his signature on them. One of the places that Lark loved most was Taylor Park, CO. When the family began to talk about getting away there was no question as to where they would be going. Their first trip to Taylor was in 1979 with Rhonda’s parents, Paul and Norma Jean. Lark shared Paul’s love for fishing and they spent many hours together by the lake. Paula, Korena and Nicholas grew up thinking there was no place else to vacation and they too have shared their love for Taylor with their children. He also loved hunting. Over the years he had many fall trips to the mountains with his brother-in-laws Ted and Don and later his kids and son-in-law Marc. He was happy when he brought home his game but just as happy just being in the mountains with his family and friends. Lark’s greatest love was for his wife and family. He was most content when they were altogether just enjoying the simple things in life. He was blessed beyond words when his first granddaughter Kayleigh was born and determined then that his job was to spoil each grandchild he had. His children describe him as the strongest man they have ever known, with his big hands able to build anything, fix anything or to hug away any hurt. His legacy is one of integrity and a quiet gentle love. Preceding Lark in death were his father Herman E. Laue, Jr., his mother Leona Mae Laue, stepfather, Bill Villers, father-in-law Paul Moore and nephew Jason Gustin. Left to celebrate his life are his loving wife Rhonda, daughter Paula Santala and husband Marc; daughter Korena Powell and husband Cody; son Nicholas Laue and wife Stacy; grandchildren: Kayleigh, Jesse, Zaccary, Kolbey, Sydnie, Charley, Landree, Kambri, Jeremee and Kacee Santala; Parker, Pryce and Paxytn Mangus; Madison, Jordyn and Caden Paul Laue; brothers Skip Laue and wife Jane, Mike Laue and wife Anne, Mark Laue and wife Mary Ann and sister Dina Louden: brother-in-law Ted Moore and wife Sandy; and sister-in-law Debra Gustin and husband Don; aunts Rose Christensen and Erlene Snow and nephews, nieces cousins and friends. God has blessed us with so many memories and so much love. We are grateful for the life of Larkin Walter Laue, our husband, dad, grandpa, brother and friend.