Tribal Elder Edward "Eddie" Larsen walks on at age 81

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Elder and longtime Tribal Council member Edward Earl "Eddie" Larsen, passed away on Thursday, July 16, 2024, in Grand Ronde at the age of 81.

Larsen was born Dec. 4, 1942, in McMinnville to Verna Larsen (Riggs) and Ed Larsen Sr. He was the eldest of six children.

He began riding in a log truck with his father at a young age and would get out and open the gates and put the chains up, setting chokers by the time he was a sophomore in high school.

Larsen graduated from Willamina High School in 1960 and became a logger and log truck driver, like most young men in Grand Ronde during that time. 

During a 2017 interview with Smoke Signals, Larsen said he had always taken great pride in his Native heritage, which is something he learned from his father, who was Chinook.

Larsen also learned the value of hard work and said that he carried those teachings with him throughout his life.

He served on Tribal Council from 1992 through 2004 and owned the Spirit Mountain Store at the corner of Hebo and Grand Ronde roads before he began his council run.

Larsen’s late wife, Shirley, ran the store while her husband drove a log truck. The couple wed on Oct. 23, 1976, and were married for 35 years before her passing in 2011.  

As the Tribe began the process of establishing Spirit Mountain Casino in the 1990s when Larsen was on Tribal Council, he was acknowledged as a key figure in the effort to win over West Valley residents and business owners in securing support for the casino.

He served as Tribal Council Secretary from 1994-95 and reached the vice chair position in 1996, where he served on and off until 2000.

The 2017 article noted that Larsen, “has become a walking book of Grand Ronde Tribal knowledge.”

“In many respects that is a good description,” Tribal Attorney Rob Greene said in the article. “The thing that has always impressed me about Ed and continues to impress me about him is his phenomenal memory. He can remember the smallest details from so many years back, it’s incredible. Whether he was on the council or the board (Spirit Mountain Casino Board of Directors) he brought that same sharpness of mind to the issues and he would report back to the council the various things the board was considering.”

Greene said he first met Larsen when he was on the board of directors at the casino and the property was opening.

“I think one of the things about Ed is he was comfortable in any situation in terms of his ability to communicate with people,” Greene said. “I attended a number of meetings with Ed and he was always very comfortable and I think made people who he was talking with feel very much at ease. He was a wonderful ambassador for the Tribe. He was excellent at that.”

Larsen said his style of leadership was to bring everyone together.

“My way was to get it done and not fight about it,” he told Smoke Signals of his time on Tribal Council. “My idea was to make it work whether it was my idea or somebody else’s idea. I think my strongest deal was getting along with people.”

Larsen was also well known throughout the area for his fashion sense, often sporting cowboy hats, leather jackets and big boots in a way that set him apart from the crowd, former longtime Tribal Council Chair Reyn Leno recalled in the article.

“He always wore those big cowboy hats,” he said. “He always just seemed to be saying this is the way I am. Ed always remembered he was a Grand Ronde Indian and that is what made him successful when he was on council. He cared about people. He was really supportive of those issues like veterans and Elders. He was raised here in Grand Ronde when you respected your Elders. People don’t do that anymore.”

Funeral services will be held for Larsen at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Tribal gym, with interment at the Tribal Cemetery and a meal to follow at the Elder Activity Center. Bollman’s Tribute Center in Dallas is assisting the family.

A full obituary will appear in the Aug. 1, 2024, edition of Smoke Signals.