Val (Hanson) Larson

*Updated Service Information :*  Va Laine “Val” Larson, age 97, passed away at St. Crispin Living Community on November 11, 2020.  Val was born on January 13, 1923 to Harvey and Tilda (Shaw) Hanson in Lake Crystal, MN, Blue Earth County where they lived on a farm.  She was a lifelong member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Butternut Township, MN, where she was baptized, confirmed and married.  She graduated from Lake Crystal High School in 1941.

Val was full of spunk and kept her good sense of humor throughout her life.  Her family affectionately called her “a stubborn ‘ole Norwegian,” a term she embraced.  She loved dogs, gardening and walking  and was an avid and funny storyteller.

Val married Donald Jones in March 1942.  They had two children, Gary Jones and Sandra “Sandy” Jones.  Don and Val made their home on a farm outside of Lake Crystal until Don passed away in 1965.  She then moved into the town of Lake Crystal and worked for many years at Madsen’s Value Center in Mankato as a cashier.  The Minnesota Vikings had their training camp in Mankato in those days and Val had the pleasure of meeting many of the players in the Bud Grant coaching era.  Val married Dean “Jiggs” Larson in 1966, and they made their home in Lake Crystal for many years before moving to Red Wing, MN.

She is survived by her daughter-in-law, Carole Jones of Red Wing; three grandchildren Laurie (Tina) Jones of St. Paul, Tracy Jones of Clermont FL, and Todd (Tracy) Jones of Red Wing; five great-grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her two brothers, her son Gary and daughter Sandy, her husbands, Jiggs and Don, and her step-children Nancy Fredrickson and Greg Larson.

Memorial service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at Mahn Family Funeral Home Bodelson-Mahn Chapel.   Burial will be at a later date at Butternut Valley Cemetery in Lake Crystal.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials instead or donations in Val’s memory to the American Cancer Society, the ASPCA or the Humane Society of the U.S.  Online condolences may be sent to the family at ww.mahnfamilyfuneralhome.com.