Report says Larson's owner has died - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

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Report says Larson's owner has died Bruce Larson (photo courtesy of KOBI-TV) Saturday Nov 5, 2016 at 2:12 PM Nov 5, 2016 at 4:27 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat Bruce Larson, second-generation owner of longtime downtown Medford fixture Larson's Home Furnishings, died Thursday at age 81 after a battle with Alzheimer's, according to a report on KOBI-TV. Larson was 10 years old when his parents opened an appliance repair business in 1945 that he grew into the multi-location furniture and appliance superstore. The business reached its zenith in the 1980s, before ultimately shutting doors to the connected buildings on 10th and Fir streets in 2014, after Larson's health began to fail and his children moved into other careers outside the area. Larson's wife of more than five decades, Faye, preceded Bruce in death just weeks ago on Oct. 16, according to obituary archives. The couple met while students at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, and for a time Faye worked to support her husband while he attended Northwest Nazarene and later Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. Though Faye often appeared in Larson's television commercials, she also worked at the Medford Neurological Clinic for more than three decades. Larson learned the family business from his parents, Al and Lulu Larson, beginning as an appliance repairman. He acquired his father's share of the company in 1963, and later his mother's. By the 1970s and '80s, profits from home stereos and electronics helped the company expand to Roseburg and Redding, California. Though Bruce and Faye Larson exposed their children to roles in the family business, the children found different careers. According to a story published in 2014, their son Troy Larson co-founded ClearPath Capital Partners in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Traci pursued a career in law enforcement, working in the Naval Criminal Investigation Service. Efforts to reach family members Saturday were unsuccessful.  Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.