William "Sandy" G. Larsen Jr.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved brother, William G. Larsen, Jr., who passed away peacefully at home on June 12, 2024.  He was 79 years old.

Sandy, as he was fondly called by his friends and family,  was born on January 15, 1945 to Dr. and Mrs. William G. Larsen in New York City.  He grew up in San Mateo, California, graduated from The Thacher School in Ojai, California, and went on to graduate from Princeton University in 1966.  After a grand motorcycle tour of Europe with several of his friends, he returned to California and at the age of 23 Sandy joined the Marine Corps, serving in Vietnam as a navigator,  flying  A-6s.   He valued his service highly, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant.

Following his service in the Marine Corps Sandy went on to earn an MBA from the Stanford Business School.  Upon graduating he worked for Price Waterhouse.  He then moved on to the Bank of America as a senior loan officer.  From there he went on to develop a start-up company which he and another friend ran, hiring executives in advertising and marketing.  This company was then sold to a renowned international company and Sandy was able to retire and move to his beloved Sonoma home.

In his free time, Sandy enjoyed maintaining a close relationship with friends from high school, college and his time in service.  When he moved to Sonoma 24 years ago he eventually joined the monthly “Bill & Dave” hikes.  They were known as “The 3 Amigos.”  For 20 years they explored throughout Northern California with many followers, sometimes as many as 100 from the Bay Area.  Sandy’s expert navigational skills were greatly appreciated.  As he became ill, he was devastated that he was no longer able to continue to pursue his passion of the mountains.

His family was and continued to be extremely important to him.  He was a loving and caring brother and uncle who was always there for his family whenever they needed him.  He is survived by his younger siblings, Kay and Bob, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

A service with military honors, followed by internment alongside brothers-in-arms will be held 10:30 am, Thursday, July  18, 2024 at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Rd Dixon, CA, followed by a Celebration of Life in his hometown of Sonoma, California.  Burial arrangements are being made by Duggans Mission Chapel in Sonoma, California

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