Larry Eugene Crawford, 77, of Indianola, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 26, 2024, after a lengthy illness. Larry was born the second of nine children on September 10, 1946, in Mt Ayr, Iowa, to Bill and Catherine (Dahlgran) Crawford.
Larry was united in marriage to Marlene (Bjorholm) in July 1968. He attended Iowa Western Community College for two years, where he met Marlene. He then entered the United States Army, where he spent two years serving until he was medically discharged. He and Marlene made Indianola their home in 1972 when he bought into a clothing store named Squire Shoppe, on the south side of the Indianola square. He was known for being a business owner, operating Squire Shoppe clothing store for men and women in Indianola for nearly 25 years. This was when he was his happiest, greeting customers with a smile and friendly hello upon entering the store. He loved being around people, and this gave him an opportunity to get to know the public and dress them impeccably throughout the years. He even added a trading card shop, where people of all ages would spend their money on a pack of cards to see if they got the highly sought-after rookie card of the latest and greatest athlete. He would beam and smile so wide for those kids when they got the one! He operated these businesses until 1998.
After closing the Squire Shoppe, Larry went on to have a career at Yellow Freight Lines in their customer service division. While there, he continued serving people and taking care of their needs on the special accounts. He loved his teammates and would get so excited when he made his smoked salmon for his team. He retired from Yellow around 2008 and then became a full-time grandpa and self-proclaimed grocery store junkie! Never one to sit for very long, he developed a routine of visiting different grocery stores on certain days of the week, depending on their sales and deals, loading up on whatever looked good!
Larry was known for many things throughout his life. He was an outstanding athlete during high school and college where he played football, tennis, golf, and ping pong (picked up during his time in the Army). He could master anything with fierce determination and resilience. If he wasn’t good at it, he wouldn’t play it. Larry was an avid hunter of pheasants and quail, along with his faithful Vizsla Levi Molson Skye. Larry was also known for his love of fishing, even creating an email address with “@luvfishing”. Canada and the Mississippi River were his favorite places to fish for walleye, and he could always be found at a local farm pond fishing for bass, crappie, and bluegill.
Larry was an avid Hawkeye fan, and a member of several clubs; The Noon Lions Club, Izaak Walton League, Pheasants Forever, Central Iowa Football Club and the proud founder of the Large-Scale Iowa Trout Tournament (carp), with his buddies Mike and Al.
Larry’s biggest joy came from his four grandchildren, Riley Renee, born in 2001, Morgan Kay, born in 2002, Devyn Rae Meta, born in 2005, and Max Jackson, born in 2005. He passed on his love of fishing by taking each one to farm ponds to learn how to bait a hook, cast a line, and “set that hook!” He was known for carving pumpkins with each of the grandkids, letting them design the face and helping to craft them. Larry also bought each one a new bike. He was supportive of all of them, attending as many sports and agricultural events as he could.
Larry is survived by his wife of 56 years, Marlene; daughters, Kim (Keith) Davis and Kendra (Don) Minks. In addition, those left to honor his memory are his grandchildren, Riley and Devyn Davis, Morgan and Max Minks; as well as, Jeremy (Tonya) Davis and Melissa (Clayton) Dyer and their five children, Lanee, Hudson, Marshall, Reagan and Carter. He is also survived by his siblings, Donald (Cham) Crawford, Ann Beech, Harold Crawford, John (Donna) Crawford, Rosemary Hullinger, Bernard (Marla) Crawford; sister-in-law, Lois Bachman; brother-in-law, Robert (Denise) Bjorholm; as well as, numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Catherine Crawford; sister, Doris Crawford; infant brother, Robert; sister-in-law, Melynda Crawford; and brothers-in-law, Jerry Schlapia, Bill Beech and Jim Hullinger.
A visitation will be held Monday, September 9 from 5 to 7:00 p.m., at Overton Funeral Home in Indianola. A Celebration of Life will immediately follow.
Memorial contributions can be directed to the family.
