Chris Kjeldsmark Laursen

Chris Kjeldsmark Laursen, age 58, of Casa Grande, Arizona, and formerly of Gilbert, Arizona died unexpectedly on Sunday, May 12, 2013, at his residence. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at the First United Methodist Church in Scranton with Rev. Charles Thompson officiating. Friends may call at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Scranton from 5:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. on Monday evening. The casket will be moved to the church at 9:00 A.M. on Tuesday morning where visitation will resume until the time of service. Pianist for the service will be Julie Naberhaus. Casket Bearers will be Dale Drey, Roger Hall, Steven Jonas, Andrew Laursen, Kim Laursen, Craig Van Cleave, Larry Van Cleave, Michael Walker. Honorary Casket Bearers will be Larry Dingman, Wilbur (Curly) Eason, Dean Gibson, Don (Chop) Gibson, Jason Laursen, Nicholas Laursen, Tyler Laursen, Dale McDonald, Jerry Van Cleave, and Paul Walker. Burial will be in the Scranton Township Cemetery near Scranton. Chris Kjeldsmark Laursen was born March 13, 1955, in Jefferson Iowa, the son of Ivan Kjeldsmark Laursen and Fairy Jean (Van Cleave) Laursen. His family moved to Arizona in January of 1969. He graduated from Gilbert High School in 1974. After graduating from Gilbert High School, where he earned All-State and All-Southwest honors as a defensive lineman, he accepted a scholarship to Iowa State University to play football. Instead of going to ISU, he chose another field instead. He took a year off from school and worked for a friend outside of Gilbert in a hay field. He admitted to friends later that he was just a kid and did not want to go to school. After working the fields for a year, he turned to Mesa Community College and went back to playing football. The Arizona Community College Athletic Conference named Chris a Football All-Conference Player for 1975 and 1976. He also earned National Junior College Athletic Association honors in 1976. He was a member of the 1975 National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship team and defensive player of the year in 1976. In October of 2007, Mesa Community College recognized Chris and inducted him the Mesa Community College Hall of Fame. Chris enjoyed farming all his life, dating back to his childhood when he would help his dad in the fields. Nearly suffocating in a farm accident, when he was only eight years, was not enough to scare him away from helping his dad on the farm. Sports were also an important part to who Chris was. According to Lin Laursen, former Girls Basketball Coach of Central Arizona College, Chris was a strong supporter of the Girls’ Basketball program. He followed the team since 1988 and even arm wrestled one year to get the team jackets. However, the greatest of all was his love of family. He would get on the phone daily to keep in touch with them. After the death of his father in 2003, he stepped up to the plate to keep the family going. He is survived by his mother, Fairy Jean (Van Cleave) Laursen of Gilbert, Arizona; two brothers Wayne Laursen of Bakersfield, California, and Bruce Laursen and his wife Veronica of Chandler, Arizona; three sisters: Rina (Laursen) McCool and her husband Don of Bayard, Iowa, Linda (Laursen) Jonas and her husband Keith of Stuart, Iowa, and Zola Laursen of Mesa, Arizona; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Chris was preceded in death by his father, Ivan Laursen, his grandparents Jens and Severine Laursen and Bill and Fonnie Van Cleave, and his great-niece, Alexa Jonas.