Calvert Therald Larsen

4/18/1933 ~ 1/24/2021

Calvert Therald Larsen, 87 passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 24, 2021 of causes incident to age, at Beehive Homes Assisted Living Center, South Jordan, UT. He was born April 18, 1933 in Ephraim, Utah to George Calvert and Elga Henrie Larsen.
Calvert, also known as Therald, or “Tink”, to many of his childhood friends, grew up on a farm where his father raised sheep in Ephraim, UT. Growing up on a farm gave him the opportunity to learn how to work, ride horses, herd sheep, and develop a love for animals. Therald made friends easily and participated in extracurricular activities, most notably, Future Farmers of America (FFA), where he raised and showed many champion sheep. Therald earned the State Star Farmer for the State of Utah in 1951, and the American Farmer Award in 1952, two of the highest honors in the FFA at the state and national levels.
Therald graduated from high-school and Snow College in Ephraim. After high school he attended Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University) and Utah State University. He was one of the first four students from the State of Utah to be accepted into the Veterinary School at Colorado A&M under the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), which allowed him in-state tuition. He graduated from Colorado State with a degree in Veterinary Science, Dentistry, and Surgery and worked in Bountiful, and Ephraim, UT practicing as a veterinarian for a short time before he decided to pursue advanced degrees at the University of Minnesota. He earned a MS in Veterinary Public Health, and a PhD in Veterinary Microbiology-Virology, specifically Coronavirus of turkeys. While at the University of Minnesota, he asked S. Colleen Bagnall, from Ephraim, UT, to marry him. They were married in the Manti Temple on July 27th, 1962. While in Minnesota they added Chris Rawlin, Scott Calvert and Sarah Jane to their family. They later moved to Sonoma, California where Brian Therald was born. While finishing up his PhD, they moved to Ames, Iowa for two years, and then eventually Therald was accepted as part of the first faculty to the new Virginia/Maryland School of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. The family settled in Christiansburg, VA, and it is there that they lived for most of their family life. In their later years, Colleen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and the two of them moved to Utah where they would be closer to family.
Therald spent his whole life serving others. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He served in the church serving in various callings throughout his life from Bishop to Patriarch, and also the Scouting program. Living in Virginia gave him ample opportunities to serve in the church, and he loved the people in his ward and stake and considered them part of his family. They tried to stay close to their Utah family by making annual road trips with their kids to Utah, where many fond memories were made on the “annual odyssey” trip to Utah to reconnect with parents, siblings, and cousins. He loved serving those around him, helping where he could. He loved growing a large garden and made sure that his children knew the value of weeding, and yard work. He loved his family and worked hard to instill the values of hard work, serving their fellow man, and doing what is right. He was a devoted husband, helping to take care of Colleen as she progressed with Alzheimer’s disease for several years. He was proud of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He would spend hours setting up things for them to play with, with whatever he could find to use in his creation.
He was an accomplished research scientist and spent a lot of time with his experiments and research, trying to find out the “why”. He had a quick wit and loved telling jokes and stories to his kids and grandchildren up until the time of his passing. In his later years, the effects of old age began to overcome him, and he endured these challenging conditions bravely and with faith. With the restrictions of COVID-19, he endured only being allowed calls and video chats for several months before his death. Even in the final stages of life, he continued to have a sense of humor. He would light up and respond when his grandchildren and great grandchildren would call or video chat.
Therald is survived by his four children- Chris (Marilee) Larsen, Ephraim; Scott (Kim) Larsen, Virginia; Sarah (Justin) Devenberg, South Jordan; and Brian (Emili) Larsen, Nibley, 18 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, sister Georgia (Burke) Teichert, sister Lynette (Wes) Cox and sister-in-law Katie Jean Larsen. Therald was preceded in death by his wife Colleen, his brother Kim, and parents, Calvert and Elga Larsen.
Funeral services will be held Monday, February 1st, 2021 in the Ephraim Second Ward, 450 N. 200 W. Ephraim, Utah. The viewing will be Sunday, January 31st, from 6:30-8:30pm in the same location. The funeral will begin at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow in the Ephraim City Cemetery.
His family would like to express their gratitude and appreciation for all those who cared for their Father at the Beehive Homes Care Center and Brio Hospice.

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