William (Wash) Washington Larsen, III

William Washington “Wash” Larsen, III, 93, departed this life on June 27, 2024.  A lifelong resident of Dublin, Mr. Larsen was born August 8, 1930, the son of William Washington Larsen, Jr., and Frances Beacham Larsen. 

Mr. Larsen attended the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Georgia where he was president of Kappa Alpha fraternity.  He was first honor graduate of his 1952 University of Georgia School of Law class and was president of Phi Kappa Phi legal fraternity. After law school, Mr. Larsen joined the United States Army and served as a war crimes investigator in the Korean War, earning a Bronze Star. 

After discharge from the Army, Mr. Larsen returned to Dublin where he began practicing law with his father. He was elected District Attorney in 1960, serving two terms.  He then served in the Georgia House of Representatives for three terms from 1971 to 1976 where he was voted the most effective legislator by his colleagues.

Mr. Larsen led a remarkable life.  As a plebe at the U.S. Naval Academy, Wash suffered an ankle injury which resulted in his hospitalization at Bethesda Naval Hospital where he spent several days playing bridge with Secretary of State Cordell Hull.  As a law student, he “struck a blow for liberty” with former Speaker of the House and former Vice-President John Nance Garner at Mr. Garner’s home in Uvalde, Texas. As Solicitor General (now District Attorney), he made the acquaintance of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy at the National District Attorney’s Conference in Philadelphia.  A good friend of Sam Nunn’s, he served in Mr. Nunn’s“kitchen cabinet” during Nunn’s first run for the Senate.

Mr. Larsen was best known as a skilled attorney.  The law was, in many ways, a family business.  His grandfather, William Washington Larsen, was an attorney, as were his father and his only sibling, sister Joan Larsen.  His cousins Peter Fred Larsen and Peter Fred Larsen, Jr., are also attorneys as are three of Mr. Larsen’s children. Mr. Larsen relished a good courtroom contest and was a fiery orator with a commanding presence.  He was also a skilled legal researcher and strategist who regularly won cases on the appellate level, making new law in the process.

Mr. Larsen was a voracious reader of both the law and other, often esoteric, topics.  He was seldom seen without a book or newspaper in his hand, and many a motorist has had to stop on Jackson Street to allow him to cross as he read a paper, seemingly oblivious to traffic.  Among his favorite topics were politics, history, and science, especially chemistry.

Mr. Larsen was preceded in death by his parents and by his sister, Joan Larsen, and infant son, Peter Washington Larsen.  He is survived by five children, Celia (Walter) Murray of Madison, Georgia; William H. “Bill” (Kathy) Larsen of Macon; Karen (Hal) Still of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Harriett Larsen of Orange County, California; and Joanie (Dave) McMinn of Inlet Beach, Florida; and by ten grandchildren, Dylan (Julie) Pettis, Larsen (Michael) Garrett, Laura Larsen, William Washington (Samantha) Larsen IV, Kelly (Colin) Young, Beacham Still, Rachel Still, Sam Still, Katherine McMinn and Connor David McMinn, seven great-grandchildren, and his beloved friend, Delores Whittington.

The family will receive visitors in the sanctuary of Dublin First Methodist Church at 12:00, noon, on Sunday, June 30, 2024, with funeral services to follow immediately afterwards at 1:00 pm.  The funeral service will be officiated by Pastor David Thompson.  Prior to the service, the family will have a private burial at Northview Cemetery.

Mr. Larsen’s good friends, the ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out), who met several times a week at Chick-Fil-A, will serve as Honorary Pallbearers.

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