A memorial service will be held Friday in Decorah Iowa for Ben Larson, the La Crosse native who died in a collapsed building in Haiti. The service will take place at Luther College, which the 25-year-old Larson attended before seeking a master’s degree at a seminary in Dubuque.
The service will feature songs Larson composed. He was a choral singer at La Crosse Central High School and Luther College. In Haiti, Larson was teaching lay ministers while staying in a boys’ home in Port-au-Prince that collapsed in last Tuesday’s earthquake. His wife and a cousin escaped unharmed, and are now with other family members in Minnesota.
Larson’s father, the Reverend Judd Larson, said they’re working with US House Democrat Jim Oberstar of Duluth to recover the victim’s body. Officials say they have not been able to survey the damaged building.
