John D. Larson, 74, died on Thursday, April 14, 2011 at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines from complications of leukemia and lymphoma. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Tuesday, April 19 at 1:30 p.m. Visitation will be held 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 18 at Overton Funeral Home where family will be present from 6 to 8 p.m. to greet friends. John was born on May 26, 1936 in Elkader, IA to Irvin & Ethel Larson. He was raised in Vermillion, SD, attended Scattergood Quaker Boarding School in West Branch, IA through his junior year of high school, and graduated from Vermillion High School in 1954. He earned his B.A. Degree in social work from the University of South Dakota and his Masters in social work from the University of Nebraska. On August 8, 1958 he married JoAnn (Austin) Larson and together they had three children, Jeffrey, Timothy and Heather. The family moved to Indianola, IA in 1969. John's career as a social worker encompassed child welfare, family counseling, and services to people with disabilities in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. He was Administrator of the Iowa State Vocational Rehabilitation Evaluation Center in Des Moines until his retirement in 1997. John was a leader in many local and state organizations and earned two Governor's Volunteer Awards. He was appointed an honorary Colonel in the Iowa National Guard in 2006 for service to the people of Iowa. Following his retirement, he served as an Administrative Law Judge for Vocational Rehabilitation for several years. He was currently serving on the Iowa Real Estate Appraisers board. John worked as a clerk in the Iowa Senate for the past twelve years was an active member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, and was also a baseball umpire and volleyball referee for several schools in the Indianola and Des Moines areas. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, JoAnn Larson of Indianola; his children and grandchildren, Jeff and Jan Larson (Hannah and Sonya) of Austin, Texas, Tim and Jennifer Larson (Sierra) of Des Moines, and Heather and Brian Pomerenk (Dallas Knoop) of West Des Moines; sister, Loral (Roger) Stolze of Manhattan Beach, California; sisters-in-law, Glennyce (Arnie) Peterson of Lincoln, Nebraska and Ellen Unzicker of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; eight nieces and nephews; several godchildren; and many caring cousins and friends. Memorial contributions may be made to Redeemer Lutheran Church in Indianola or the Eyerly Ball Jail Diversion Program c/o Chris Sorenson, 945 19th Street, Des Moines, IA 50314.