Marie Hanzel-Larson

Aug. 16, 1934 - May 18, 2022

Date of Service: May 23, 2022

BURLEY – Marie Hanzel-Larson, age 87, of Burley, passed away, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at her home in Burley.

Marie was born August 16, 1934, in Pingree, Idaho, in the midst of the Great Depression, Marie Hansen (later Marie Hanzel, then Marie Hanzel-Larson) was the third of Laurence and Edna Hansen’s six children. Her first school bus was a horse-drawn sheep wagon with a stove pipe.

Marie graduated from high school at 16, and earned her pilot’s license just a couple years later.  She worked, saved money, and bought her own plane. She loved to fly all over the country, and twice was Idaho’s entrant in the Powderpuff Derby, a women’s transcontinental air race.  After moving to Burley, she was introduced to another private pilot, Jim Hanzel, whom she married.  They spent their honeymoon touring Mexico together in a Cessna.  Together they had five children:  Curtis, Mark, Matt, Don, and Karla.  Tragically, Jim was killed in 1974, when the glider he was piloting lost a wing.

Marie carried on as a devoted single mother, working overtime, and raising her five kids, yet somehow still found time to be a surrogate parent to hundreds of others. For years, she was the leader of the county’s largest 4-H club.  She was the first person many students went to for help with essays, speeches, scholarship applications, and anything that needed her creative energy.  Over the years, she worked for Burley High School, the James Annest Law Office, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, and most recently with FEMA, traveling all over the United States to help coordinate disaster relief efforts.

Marie was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and enjoyed her roles in the Church and with the Cub Scouts.  Marie was also active with politics all of her life, serving two years as the State Chairperson of the Idaho Democratic Party.  Marie ran for State Senate in 1980.

Marie loved her five children; her 15 grandchildren; and her eight great-grandchildren, and all the beautiful people who joined her family through marriage. Her home was a welcome place for family to gather, and she found particular joy in being around young people. Marie spent countless hours last fall making quilts for all her grandchildren that would become her last Christmas gifts to them.

In 2017, nearly 43 years after being widowed, Marie married Glen Larson.  Happy is an understatement to describe their marriage.  Even while Marie courageously fought Parkinson’s the past few years, Glen and Marie thoroughly enjoyed every moment they had together, giving Marie a storybook ending to an amazing life.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 23, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Star 1st Ward, located at 96 S. 200 W., of Burley, with Bishop Ryan Hobson officiating. Burial will follow at Pleasant View Cemetery.

Family and friends will be received from 5 until 7 p.m. Sunday, May 22, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, located at 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and from 10 until 10:45 a.m. Monday, prior to the service, at the church.

A live webcast of the Funeral Service will be available and maintained at the following link: https://youtu.be/t1t3nUlMZHE.