Rosalee Jeanette Lander Larson

Rosalee Jeanette Lander Larson passed away on June 14th, 2020. She was born on February 19, 1924 on the family farm in Salina, Kansas to Sten and Alma Lander. Growing up on a farm she was surrounded by animals including Great Danes, cows, chickens and the family horse, Billy. She was the second of 3 children and had an older sister, Lucille Forsberg and younger brother, Wayne Lander. She had many memories of farm life and it was an idyllic childhood filled with fun and hard work. She went on to college at Kansas Wesleyan and was active in theatre and all sorts of social clubs. During her sophomore year she was crowned the May Queen. World War II interrupted her education and she obtained an emergency teaching certificate and taught 1st through 8th grade in one room schoolhouse for one year. It was a time of great patriotism and Rosalee joined the women's division of the US Navy as a Wave. After her training at Hunter College in New York City she was assigned to a base near Savanah, Georgia where she helped teach young naval recruits to fly aircraft using a land-based auto trainer. She was proud to go to Washington, D.C. where one of the auto trainers was permanently placed in the Smithsonian Institution. After the war ended, she obtained a B.A. in English from Marymount College. After graduating, she went to a radio performance school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She hosted a series of radio shows in Western Kansas. She met Ralph Larson on a blind date at a picnic on Coronado Heights and they married and moved to Topeka Kansas where Ralph began his law practice. She worked at the Menninger Foundation before starting a family. She had 5 children, Laird, Theresa, Ingeborg, Christopher and Robin Todd. She was a fun mother who loved her family and spent many fond hours entertaining the children with things like art, sewing and many outdoor adventures. She was the Girl Scout leader for Ingeborg and Theresa and all the Briarwood girls. She later went to work in the Nursing Service Division at St Francis Hospital in Topeka. After retirement she lived in her home on Jewell street for many years, and recently went to live with her son, Laird in Lindsborg, Kansas. As a member of the Greatest Generation she lived through the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression and World War II, all of which help to shape her fine character. Rosalee was a beautiful woman inside and out, who maintained a gracious home, loved literature and family vacations, but most of all her precious children. She is survived by her son Laird Larson of Lindsborg, Kansas, her daughter Theresa Larson of Kansas City, Missouri and several nieces and nephews. She brought so much joy and love into the world and will be deeply missed. Cremation has been chosen and funeral services are pending at this time.