DeLyle L. Larson was born in Sioux Falls, SD on September 23, 1943 and slipped away peacefully from this life to the next on August 29, 2018 at his home. He was raised on a cattle ranch in Clear Lake SD where he graduated high school. He was an Army veteran, serving in Germany, where he was discharged in 1967.
He excelled at the Detroit Lakes, MN Vocational Sign Painting program. He married Cathy Wolverton on June 25, 1982 and they welcomed their daughter, Kimberly, in Jamestown, ND in 1986. They moved west in 1989, eventually settling in Heron, MT where they raised their daughter and co-owned and operated The Maverick House Café on Hwy 200.
A chance encounter in 1994 led to a deep and lasting friendship when he painted his first logging truck for Wayne Dykstra Logging, Inc. DeLyle and Cathy moved to Thompson Falls in February 2006 where he continued to paint heavy equipment for Wayne. Nicknames were bandied about as Wayne and DeLyle worked together and developed their friendship. “Your Man Friday,” “7 Wide,” “Don’t Start With Me,” were all phrases that will resonate for years to come.
Some of the memorable trips DeLyle took were with Wayne when they went to bring heavy equipment back to Thompson Falls. One particular trip had them all “Sea-daddling” around the Seattle I90 and 405 Interchange where they had picked up one of DeLyle’s Cadillacs. DeLyle was a sight to behold on any particular Sunday when he would arrive at church.
He would unbend his tall frame out of his Cadillac, boots first and Sunday suit emerging next. His head of white hair completed the picture. “If a picture paints a thousand words,” is a fitting phrase for an independent man who led a simple life by choice.
After Kim had been living in Kalispell, DeLyle and Wayne made a trip there to help with a move. On the way home, DeLyle, in his quiet way, said, “I wonder why “that guy” was hanging around”. “That guy” would later turn out to be Kim’s husband, Luke.
DeLyle was incredibly proud and so happy to spend time with those two and his precious grandchildren. He so loved being “Papi” to Elena and Cole. DeLyle was a family man in every sense of the word.
For many years, he would board a train in Whitefish, MT and ride out to Valley City, ND to visit his brother Daryl and wife Rosie for a month or longer. These visits meant everything to him and he came home with precious memories. As important as spending time with his family was, DeLyle’s house was truly his castle.
He was never happier than when he was in his home on the mountain near Wayne and Nancy and the workshop he so loved. DeLyle was preceded in death by his parents, Gladys and Elmer, brothers Marlin and Wayne, and wife Cathy. He is survived by his daughter, Kim Martinez (Luke), two grandchildren, Elena and Cole of Kalispell, MT, and son, Trevor of MN and brother, Daryl (Rosie) of Valley City, ND.
Extended family consisting of in-laws, nieces, and nephews, also survive to mourn his passing. Memorials can be mailed to Friends of Cathy, PO Box 4, Heron, MT 59844.
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