Passing of Cadillac & LaSalle Club Icon Matt Larson

[Chuck Patton]

Ladies & Gentlemen

It is with great sadness that I share the news of Matt Larson passing on 9-10-2017.  Memorial event details are forthcoming.  Prayers and thoughts are with the Larson Family.

[Walter Youshock]

So sad to hear.  Prayers to Michaeline. 

Another great loss...

[Jeff Hansen]

You said it, Walter, very sad to hear.

Matt had an encyclopedic memory when it came to Cadillac and LaSalle data.  I truly enjoyed spending time with him at the CLC tent at Hershey each year.  I always learned something.

A huge loss for our club but an even bigger loss for the Larson family.

Jeff

[Jay Friedman]

A great researcher and a walking data base about Cadillacs. 

In order to thoroughly research the 500 plus '53 Eldorados, at the Cadillac archives Matt actually went through all 100,000 or so 1953 Cadillac build sheets to get the info he needed. 

Matt was also one of the authors of the LaSalle book

Sincere condolences to Michaline.

Jay

[harry s]

Sad to hear. Matt was so dedicated to the research of Cadillac and LaSalles and most generous with his knowledge. He will be missed.       Harry

[Chuck Patton]

Ladies & Gentlemen

These are the detailed dates, location and times for services.

9/14/2017
McFarland Foss Funeral Home
5401 Schaefer Road Dearborn, Michigan 48126
Thursday 4-5pm Family Hour.  5-8pm  Open Visitation

9/15/2017
Henry Ford Village
15101 Ford Road Dearborn, Michigan 48126
10:30-11am Open viewing in the Chapel
11-Noon Memorial Service in the Chapel

Luncheon in the St. Clair Dining Room immediately following the Memorial Service

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

That's very sad news for the family and also for our Club.  Matt was one
of those people that will be very difficult to replace. 

Seems as though we've lost quite a huge trove of knowledge over the
last few years with the passing of Matt, Carl Steig, Ron VanGelderen
among others.  Time passes quickly.

Mike

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

A dedicated and tireless driving force behind the CLC, Matt will be sorely missed.

Sincere condolences to Michaline.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Coming home from the Des Moines GN, I was on IL-9 heading for the IN line, and looked in the rear view mirror and saw that lovely burgundy '77 limo hauling Matt and Michaline home in style. Great people. I treasure the notations both Matt and Ron wrote in my copy of their book.

[Walter Youshock]

I'll always remember that car as well as his voice.  You always knew it was Matt talking if you were anywhere in ear shot.

[Bill Bickle 15098]

So sorry to hear of Matt's passing. Makes my signed copy of their book (LaSalle , Cadillac's Companion Car) even more special to me.
I am especially grateful to Matt for all that he did for me when restoring my '27 LaSalle.  He was inspirational in this project.  I will always remember him as one of the truly 'great guys' in this club. Thanks Matt. I will never forget.
My condolences to the family and especially Michalene. 

[Quentin Hall]

Sad to hear it. Matt and I conversed for some time due to our love for the 53 Eldorado. I had the pleasure of meeting him twice and he was always full of interesting tidbits of information. I was hoping to get the opportunity to quiz him over the missing 53 Eldo, being that 532 were claimed built but that car number 533 exists. 
Condolences to his family and friends.

[Tom Boehm]

Hello Everyone, I am restoring a 1940 Lasalle woodie station wagon. One of my best stories of this journey involves Matt Larson. When I bought the car in Illinios in 1997 I was not quite sure what I had. I did not even know what it was supposed to look like because the body had collapsed due to over exposure to the weather. I heard Matt Larson was writing a book about Lasalles so I thought maybe he knew something about Lasalle woodies. I contacted him but he could not add anything. He did however say a CLC member from Connecticut sent him a photo of a Lasalle woodie for the book and he would pass it on to me. It turned out the car in the photo was mine! My car still had the same dents and rust spots as the one in the photo. Best of all the wood body was intact! Further research revealed the photo was taken in 1965 in St. Louis.

[Bill Young]

Sorry to say I never met the Man. Sorry to hear it.

[Chris Cummings]

Matt extended many personal kindnesses to me and was an incredible source of knowledge and information.  His service to the club (along with that of his wife Michaline) cannot be measured.  God be with you, good friend!

Chris Cummings
20072

[Richard Sills - CLC #936]

Matt was unfailingly generous in sharing his great knowledge of Cadillac and LaSalle automobiles and their history.  In addition to his accomplishments that others have mentioned, Matt served as Technical Editor of the Self-Starter for many years.  In that role, Matt helped to assure that articles in the Self-Starter were not only well written, but technically accurate in every respect.   

Matt's efforts to create a book that would serve as the definitive history of LaSalle cannot be overstated in importance.  Along with Ron Van Gelderen, Matt worked for years to assure the quality and completeness of the book. Neither Matt nor Ron would accept a penny of compensation for their labors.  They wanted the entire proceeds from the sales of the LaSalle books to go to the CLC Museum & Research Center, and that is exactly what happened.  Matt's legacy includes this book, which has made a permanent contribution to automotive history.

Matt was also an unpretentious, plain-spoken gentleman whose word could be relied upon without a doubt or a question.  I feel privileged to have known him.

Richard Sills