Obituary for Ann Arrowsmith Larsen

Ann Arrowsmith Larsen left this life on May 11, 2022, peacefully in her home at the age of 88 after a fun and interesting life.  We imagine that she was as surprised by this as we were because she always insisted she would live to be 95.  We know that she was joined by loving family members and friends celebrating her “graduation” on the other side.

Ann was born on Nov. 5, 1933, in Los Angeles, California to Elden Leroy Arrowsmith and Mary Eloise King Arrowsmith. She was raised in Hollywood, California.

Ann had a bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Social Work from Berkeley University. She enjoyed playing the piano and was in a Hungarian dancing troop at the time she met Wendell Larsen at a party on the beach. She married her husband Wendell on March 24, 1967, in the Salt Lake City Temple.  She worked for years as a social worker in San Francisco and San Lois Obispo but said her greatest joy was in raising her children and spending time with her husband of 55 years.

Ann Arrowsmith Larsen

Ann loved learning, traveling, gardening, and serving the Lord.  She taught English in Japan, loved Rachmaninoff, and studied herbs. She and Wendell served a mission at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City and temple missions in  Sweden, and Nauvoo, Illinois.  They lived in Nauvoo for 10 more years, serving in the temple and family history centers there, and battling the deer and rabbits for control of the vegetable garden. Wendell and Ann moved to Safford, Arizona, built their home there, and loved their dear friends and neighbors.

Ann is survived by her husband, Wendell; her brother, Ray Arrowsmith; her sister-in-law, Anna Larsen; children, David Larsen, Chad Larsen, and Jennifer Wilson, and grandchildren, Jacob, Ashley, Josh, Grace, and Johnathan.

A viewing will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 19, followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 9th Ward, Mt. Graham Chapel located at 3722 South Hwy. 191 Safford, Arizona, 85546.

Interment will take place in Utah for family and friends with the graveside dedication on Saturday, May 21, at 12 p.m. at the Memorial Redwood Cemetery in Salt Lake City.

Arrangements are being cared for by McDougal’s Caldwell Funeral Chapel & Gila Valley Crematory.  Online condolences may be extended at www.caldwellfuneralchapel.com.