05/21/2023
Larry James Bledsoe, 88, passed peacefully on May 21, 2023, after a courageous fight with Parkinson’s disease.
Larry was born, on June 25, 1934, in Knoxville, Iowa, spending his childhood in Iowa which created
a life-long interest in environmentalism, hunting, fishing, and habitat creation.
After graduating in 1954 from Knoxville High School, Larry served in the US Army from 1956-1958, obtaining his A.A.
degree, and then relocated to Vallejo, California with his young son, Jesse, in 1963.
Larry completed Barber school and worked as a Barber for 53 years, never missing a day of work. He gave his first haircuts to generations of children, including his son, Jesse, and grandson, Logan.
Larry, with his best friend Gene, took Jesse and Jesse’s friends Blair Gast and David Wright on many fishing and hunting trips, teaching them to love the outdoors.
Larry met his life partner, Phyllis Weeks at a dance hall in Petaluma, where both were learning Country Swing dance. Larry and Phyllis moved back to Iowa in 1994. Together, they built a home in Larry’s hometown of Knoxville where Larry continued to work as the town barber for many years.
With 7 grandsons between them, Larry and Phyllis spent summers teaching their grandsons to fish, enjoy farm animals, ride a tractor, and enjoy the farm.
Larry restored the wild prairie to his Iowa farm, replacing cropland with native prairie grasses and flowers.
Today, the farm is home to deer, wild turkey, bobcats, beaver, many species of birds, and other animal species.
Larry is survived by his son, Jesse (Jenny), his grandson Logan, his life partner, Phyllis Weeks, and her sons Steve (Jennifer), Scott (Michelle), and Doug and their sons Jack, Matthew, Tyler, Max, Nick, Finn, his nephew Jeff, his nieces Stephanie and Kristen (Tracy), and their children and grandchildren.
Larry is pre-deceased in life by his brother, Joe, and sister, Joyce.
Larry will be laid to rest with a military honors service on July 3, 2023, at 2:30 pm at the National Military Cemetery in Dixon, CA followed by a Celebration of Life in Benicia, Ca.
Larry will also be memorialized with a scattering of ashes on his farm in Knoxville, Iowa in September 2023.
In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged in Larry’s honor to the Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa online at www.tallgrass.org or Friends of Neil Smith NWR PO Box 114, Prairie City, Iowa 50228.