John Merrill Larsen

John Merrill Larsen, age 79, Passed away peacefully in his home on June 2, 2026. John was born June 22, 1946, in Cleveland, Utah. He was born in the kitchen of the family farmhouse to his parents, Merrill and Kate Larsen. He was the 8th of 11 children. After losing both his parents by the time he was 14 years of age, he graduated high school and left Cleveland for higher education at Rick’s College in Idaho and BYU in Utah. His favorite color was BYU Blue! After graduating, he moved to sunny St. George, Utah where “you never have to shovel sunshine!” and worked for 30 years for the State of Utah as a social worker in the Department of Family Services where he made many friends and was well respected in his field. After retiring with the state, he continued to work doing what he was passionate about, helping others, at the Highland Manor nursing home in Mesquite, Nevada and then at the St. George Rehabilitation as a social worker. In 1972 he met and started dating Lorna Buchanan. They fell in love and were married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 24, 1973. John’s greatest joy was the love he held for his family. Together, John and Lorna had 5 wonderful children. John was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and held many callings including a temple worker in the St. George Temple. John enjoyed being outside in his yard making it beautiful. He loved all kinds of music, especially classical. He was an avid reader, often reading 3 or 4 books at a time. John loved decorating the house for all the holidays which delighted his children and grandchildren. He collected Santas from all over and has a collection of over 350. After a long day at work, tooling around in his yard, and spending some time with family, he’d often be found relaxing with his headphones on, listening to music with a Diet Coke in hand. John is preceded in death by his parents and 7 siblings. He is survived by his loving wife, Lorna, and children: Jennifer (Lynn) Weakley, Jorgen (Lindsay) Larsen, Eric Larsen, Todd (Myranda) Larsen, & Kate (Cameron) Anderson, 17 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren (with 2 more coming this year). Thank you to all the amazing doctors and nurses, especially at Liberty Dialysis in St. George and Summit Home Health and Hospice, who have helped him throughout his long health journey. His family is forever grateful. John was an amazing husband, father, grandfather/great-grandfather, brother, son, and friend and he will be greatly missed. Family is a gift so in lieu of flowers, take some time and spend it with your loved ones in memory of John. Condolences and memories may be shared online at www.serenitySTG.com The family would like to find quiet closure with his passing. There will be no public funeral service, instead there will be a viewing at Serenity Funeral Home of Southern Utah on Saturday, June 13 at 9:00-10:00 A.M. and a small graveside service after at the Washington City Cemetery. Thank you for your love and kindness.