Larry J. Pedersen

Larry J. Pedersen

September 29, 1946 – February 16, 2025

Larry Joel Pedersen was born on September 29, 1946, in Omaha, NE. He was the oldest of three children born to Gerald and Vera LaFern VomWeg Pedersen in Omaha, Nebraska. He, along with his sister Carla and brother Lyle, grew up in south Omaha. He graduated from Omaha South High and UNO. After college, Larry served in the Nebraska Army National Guard from 1967 to 1973.

He met his lovely wife of 55 years, Linda Borer, in Omaha, NE. They wed September 6, 1969, at St. John’s Church in Linda’s hometown of Petersburg, NE.

They welcomed their first daughter, Jennifer Lynn, in 1972 and a second daughter, Jill Kristine, in 1975. Larry was a devoted father and dedicated countless hours to attending and volunteering at all his daughters’ activities from sporting events to marching band competitions. One of Larry’s greatest passions was coaching his girls in softball. This started as early as when they were children playing T-ball all the way up to softball leagues when they were adults.

Larry had many passions but supported his family through his self-employed business as a fiberglass bathtub, shower, and whirlpool repairman.

One thing that Larry looked forward to was taking family trips to Canada.  Larry and Linda took numerous trips to Canada to enjoy some relaxing time up north.  They cherished their time in the boat fishing and in the outdoors picking blueberries.  After the girls were born, they were able to join in on the fishing fun. Once Larry retired, he was lucky enough to be able to build a cabin in Canada which the whole family enjoyed.  They spent 12 years going to the cabin for the summers.  As the family grew with the addition of spouses and grandkids, Larry welcomed them all to join in the Canadian summer traditions, as long as, they were willing to fish, fish, fish.

During the summers, when they did not head north to Canada, the Pedersen family would be found taking trips around the United States, visiting every state west of Nebraska during their vacations.  Aside from summer trips, the family enjoyed weekend camping. They made many memories hanging out around the camper, lake, and fire.

Along with the love of his family, Larry loved to take pictures.  There are many, many boxes of slides, videos, and photos to prove that!  Larry would display his talents by setting up the screen and projector, and hosting family at the house for a slide show night.  If you were lucky, it might even be preceded by a fish fry where he would fry up that tasty Canadian fish.

Larry loved to grow roses, and he had many different varieties growing in the yard.  Along with the many photos of vacations and roses, another loved photo opportunity were sunsets, especially in Canada. He would walk down to the water and sit and wait for the precise time when the sun was just above the horizon to get the perfect shot.

Grandpa was a title that Larry held proudly. Larry loved his grandchildren deeply. His three grandsons, Lucas, Alex, and Connor, were often seen at their grandparent’s house playing games or helping around the house.  Grandpa loved reading to the boys and showing them new things as they grew up. As a sports enthusiast, Grandpa found joy in watching his grandkids play baseball and basketball.  Larry loved to watch them play in person but as his health limited his activity, you better believe Grandpa Larry was their loudest cheerleader on video call.

When Larry retired, he enjoyed staying active by volunteering at the Douglas County Hospital gift shop.

The family of Larry wishes to extend their heartfelt thank you for your presence, prayers, and kind words during this time of sorrow. Your support has been a great comfort to us.

Preceded in death by parents, Gerald and Vera LaFern Pedersen, sister, Carla Zarkowski.

Survived by wife, Linda; daughters, Jenny Pedersen (Mary Johnson), Jill Taylor (Marc); grandchildren: Lucas, Alex, Connor, Courtney, and Marcus; brother, Lyle (Danielle); 4 great-grandchildren.

Visitation: Thursday, February 27^th, from 9-11am at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church (15005 Q Street) with Funeral Services at 11am.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler, West Center Chapel, 7805 West Center Road, Omaha, Ne 68124. (402)-391-3900. www.heafeyheafey.com