Larry James Kinnison, age 80, passed away at the Midlands Living Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at the age of 80 years.
Larry was born, February 14, 1944, to Bernice Garland Kinnison and Thelma Louise (Young) Kinnison in Mercer County, Missouri. They moved to Lewis, IA, when he was very young, then to Atlantic, where he grew up. Larry graduated from Atlantic High School in Atlantic, IA, with the Class of 1963. Larry enlisted in the in the US Navy in 1964 and was stationed on the USS Hamner, a destroyer, in San Diego, California. He served 3 years and was deployed to Vietnam during his service. He was honorably discharged.
On August 25th, 1967, he married Lucia Landon, in Omaha, Nebraska. To that union two children were born, Troy and Shane. After their marriage, Larry and Lucia lived in Omaha, where Larry went to body school. They then moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he worked for the Knudsen and Harter Body Shop. In 1973 he and Glenn Williams bought Ace Body Shop, in Oakland and ran it for over 25 years. In 1974, Larry and Lucia moved to Oakland. After selling Ace Body Shop, he then worked for Kevan Green at the Carson Body Shop, in Carson, for about 10 years, before he retired.
Larry loved his family fiercely and loved spending time with them. He was an avid hunter, in his earlier years, he had a firearms business, and he refinished gun stocks and reloaded his own shells and did a lot of trap shooting. He was a volunteer on the Oakland Fire and Rescue Department for over 18 years. He painted several of the Rescue vehicles there. He was partly responsible for getting the jaws of life in the Oakland Fire Dept. and was one of the first ones to use them. He served as the parade coordinator for the Fall Festival for many years, and served on the Lions Club and Optimists Club, and the local VFW. He also served escorting youth from the Oakland United Methodist Church, on a number of occasions, some of which were St. Louis, Missouri, several Colorado trips and a number of local excursions. He unlocked a lot of kid’s cars, over the years.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Fern Barringer and brother-in-law James Barringer, his mother and father in- law, Ronald and Harriett Landon, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Alene and Dennis Meyer, his brother-in-law, Thomas Harry, and his brother-in-law, Robert Armstrong.
Those surviving are his wife, Lucia, of Oakland, his son Troy, and wife Erin, of Grand Island, NE, his son Shane, and wife Mary, of Blair, NE, his grandchildren, Brody Kinnison of Treynor, IA, Brock Kinnison of Omaha, NE, and Bergynn Kinnison of Iowa City, IA and Noah Kinnison of Omaha, NE, his bonus grandchildren, Maclane Watson and Liam Lambert of Grand Island, NE, and Chase Jensen of Omaha, NE, and Hannah and Brandt Jensen of Blair, NE. He is also survived by his brother, Archie Kinnison and wife Lois, of Glendale, AZ., his brother Vernon Kinnison and friend Sharon Foster, of Wiota, IA, and brother Keith and wife Denise, of Iowa City, IA., his sister-in-law, Shiela Harry of Elk Horn, NE, and sister-in-law Mary Armstrong of Atlantic, IA, and nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Memorials will be directed by the family, to the Oakland United Methodist Church and the Oakland Volunteer Fire Department.
A funeral service for Larry will be held on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at 11:00 AM, at the Oakland United Methodist Church in Oakland. Visitation with the family will be on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, from 5:30 until 7:30 PM, at the Oakland United Methodist Church. Interment will be at Oaklawn Cemetery at a later date. Rieken Vieth Funeral Home in Oakland is assisting the family with arrangements.