Elma Larson, 92, of Big Lake, passed away Oct. 28 at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer.

Elma Elina Larson was born Feb. 10, 1917 in Becker County, Minn., to Oswald and Ida (Hovin) Arola, and was raised on her family’s farm near Osage, Minn.

In 1937, she traveled to Minot, N.D. to visit her uncle and aunt. There she met and married Richard A. Keyes from Grafton, N.D. They made their home in Minot, where they had five children. Mr. Keyes died in 1956 and in 1959 Elma married Gordon K. Larson of Minot. They were married 38 years until Mr. Larson passed away in 1997 in Minot. They had one son. Through the years, Elma and Gordon enjoyed traveling and visiting with family in the western states and Alaska.

In 2006, Elma moved from Minot to Big Lake where she lived with her daughter and son-in-law Diane and George Dusek. She later moved to Jennie’s Home in Meadow Lakes where she was lovingly cared for in her failing health.

Elma was proud of her Finnish heritage and loved her childhood home on the family dairy farm in the Minnesota woods. She was close to her immigrant grandparents who homesteaded in northern Minnesota in the 1800s. She was surrounded by large and loving extended family who enjoyed a self-reliant and subsistence lifestyle. From her grandmothers on, the women in her family were talented and proficient in all the needle arts and passed on this love of creativity to their daughters. Elma enjoyed needlework of all kinds and produced many beautiful items in her entire life, which she generously shared with her family. Elma was a soft spoken woman with a keen with, a baptized Christian with a strong belief in the power of prayer. She firmly knew she was going to be in the presence of God with loved ones who had gone before her.

Elma was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers Albert and Edward Arola, her sister Hilma Gentry, her husband Richard Keyes, her husband Gordon Larson, her daughter Darlene Keyes, and her sons Richard. L. and Duane W. Keyes.

She is survived by her son Charles Larson of Minot, and daughters and sons-in-law Diane and George Dusek of Big Lake, Delora and H. Lloyd Gerulf of Gabbs, Nev., seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.

Arrangements and services were held Saturday at Alaskan Heritage Memorial Chapel in Wasilla. Graveside services will be held in Minot.