Physicist, husband, father, brother and friend, Rudolf Reinhold Larsen died at his home in Glenn on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, with his wife, Mary Ann Hansen, by his side. It was the final chapter in his long battle with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, which he faced with courage and the never-ending help of Mary Ann.
He was born on March 20, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York, to Mary Martin Larsen and Reinhold Larsen, joining his sister, Brynhild Larsen Housh, to complete the family. When he was three, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, with his mother and sister, to grow up in the home his mother was raised in.
He also spent time in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with his aunt and uncle (Mary’s brother) and cousins. He then enrolled in military school for his last two years of high school.
After high school he served four years in the U.S. Navy. Following the Navy, he enrolled at UC Berkeley and earned a Bachelor of Science and a PhD degrees in high energy physics.
While attending UC Berkeley he met and married Elena Palomino Larsen, with whom he had three children: Erik R. Larsen, Robert R. Larsen, and Maria E. Lucier. Rudy Larsen moved the family to Palo Alto in 1961, where he had a distinguished 28-year career at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.
In the mid-1970s, he was a force on a team of physicists that designed and built SPEAR, a new accelerator that helped discover new subatomic particles, which secured the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physics for his boss, Burton Richter.
He loved working for Burt. It was the highlight of his career.
After retiring in 1989, in 1993, he moved to a few acres in Glenn, Calif., with Mary Ann Hansen, whom he met in the mid-1980s and married in 2000. They both settled into their little slice of heaven.
His true passion was physics, which he continued to study after retirement. He also loved the outdoors, hiking, camping, and riding his bicycle.
He loved trips to the ocean to gather mussels, fish, and the like. He loved music and loved to dance. And he loved good food, especially Mexican and Asian cuisine.
He thoroughly enjoyed the company of their dogs over the years: Abbey, Sally, and Ralph. He loved living in Glenn and puttering around on his quad amongst the orchards and down along the river.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Hansen, of Glenn; sons Erik R. Larsen of Palo Alto, and Robert R. Larsen of Chico; daughter Maria E. Lucier (Bryan Lucier) of Frenchtown, Mont.; and stepson Phil Jolley (Lisbeth) of Norway. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister.
He loved the Glenn and Willows communities and all the kind people.
His loved ones would like to extend their sincere thanks and gratitude to Glenn Medical Center, Hospice of Butte Home Health, Glenn Volunteer Fire Department 911 responders, and Julie Esparza and Cain Esparza for all their help and kindness extended to Rudy and family during his final months.
Many thanks to all their good neighbors in Glenn, especially Derek and Shanna Giesbrecht, who looked after Rudy and Mary Ann after floods and power outages and whenever a helping hand was needed.
A memorial service is planned for 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the First United Methodist Church in Willows. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Rudy’s memory to the CMT Foundation at cmtausa.org.
The Glenn County Observer 