Larry Dean Anderson was born February 26, 1943 in Hettinger, North Dakota, the oldest child of Olaf and Grace (Stuit) Anderson. He passed away at home on January 5, 2022 at the age of 78.

He attended grade school at Swanson School near Lodgepole, South Dakota, and graduated from Hettinger High School in 1961. During high school he stayed with Lizzie Anderson (no relation) who was in the business of boarding farm kids.  Here he got his first lesson in budgeting.  After spending all of his money on soda and ice cream before Christmas, his father told him it was going to be a long spring until he got paid again. This started his love for detailed record keeping and maintaining farm books.

He attended college at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and transferred to South Dakota State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanized Agriculture in 1966.

In 1964, he married Grace (Short) Anderson and from this union, his two children, Doug and Stacy, were born.

Larry worked at USDA-Farmers Home Administration from 1966-1979, in Clark, Selby and Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

On May 13, 1979, he married Ann (Ludemann) Anderson.  They moved to Naper and began farming and ranching, raising sheep, hogs, cattle, corn, soybeans, dust and even a little cain from time to time.  In time, the sheep were sold, then the hogs, the cows and finally the bred heifers.

Larry was ready for a change and received a t-shirt that said "No more bull-Just a Hog" indicating his love for his Harley-Davidson.   He logged over 100,000 miles on his Harley-Davidson Softail Heritage, most of them in the company of his good and faithful riding buddies.  He rode the same motorcycle through 49 states and all 13 territories and provinces in Canada (with the exception of Nunavut), reaching the northernmost point of North America by road to the Arctic Circle, and the southernmost point in Key West, Florida. His trip to Hawaii was in the planning stage.

Larry served on the Naper School Board, the Spencer-Naper School Board, Niobrara Valley Electric Board of Directors, Save Boyd County Board of Directors, Rural Fire District Board of Directors and as its treasurer, and in various capacities in First Congregational Church UCC at Naper.

In 1984 he earned second place at the Bonesteel Mud Run. When he told his father, Olaf, that he won second place, he asked Larry how many other people his age (41) participated.  Other moments of pride were doing a burnout in Cline's Bar (as well as other places) and wrestling anyone who dared take him on.  He received the Best Beard awards at both the 1992 Naper Centennial celebration and at the 2017 Naper Quasquicentennial celebration.

During his retirement, Larry's goal was to build a beautiful house for him and Ann, south of Naper on a hill overlooking the Keya Paha River valley. He spent years working on the house, having  recently competed the final touches on the deck and railing, and was working on the never ending road up the hill. Designing and then building the family home south of Naper was a fifteen-year project.

Larry's other retirement hobby was clearing thousands of cedar trees from the ranch.  Whenever family visited, he loved to show off the progress he made.

He is survived by his wife Ann of over 42 years; son, Douglas (Kristy) and daughter, Stacy, both of Sioux Falls; stepsons Dave (Melody) Kapsa of Omaha and Mark Kapsa of Belle Fourche; stepdaughter Kara (Lyndon) Vogt of Grand Island; grandchildren Nicholas and Samantha Anderson and Chelsea Anderson; Chris (Christina) Kapsa,  Melissa (Gary Shockley) Kapsa and Phillip Kapsa; Marlo (Tess Amen) Kapsa; Logon (Roni Shaner) and Dillon (Jena Wilson) Vogt; and great-grandsons Landon Kapsa and Nicholas Kapsa-Shockley. He is also survived by brothers, Dennis Anderson and Stan (Terri) Anderson; sister, Sharon (Barry) Krueger; sisters-in-law Mary (Scott Davis) Ludemann and Margaret (Denny Jorgensen) Ludemann and brother-in-law Roger (Barb) Ludemann; as well as many nieces, nephews and friends. Preceding him in death were his parents Olaf and Grace Anderson, brother Ronald Anderson and sister-in-law LaVonne Anderson.

Larry will be remembered for his great hugs, sleeveless shirts, hearty laughs, love of pepper, gift of story-telling and of course, his award-winning beard.

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 1:00 PM at Naper Auditorium in Naper, Nebraska.  There will be a visitation on Monday from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at the Auditorium.