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Mitzi Jackson Perino reported to me that Dane Larsen passed away on March 4, 2026 in Forest Knolls, Marin County, California where he lived with his wife of 35 years, Martha Cederstrom. He is survived by Martha and a daughter, Sophia Larsen. You can find Dane's obituary attached. On a personal note, my high school friends and I knew Dane in many ways but I knew him mostly as my good friend, Terry Hoff's, boyfriend. Rest in peace, Dane.
https://www.marinij.com/obituaries/dane-larsen-forest-knolls-ca/ https://www.marinij.com/obituaries/dane-larsen-forest-knolls-ca/
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Blair Wardlaw (Hunt)
Blair Wardlaw (Hunt)
The photo is of Terry Hoff, Dane Larsen and Dee Williams at my wedding in August 1976 in my parent's backyard.
James Hahn
I met Dane in Ms. Martincich's freshman Englush class. He sat behind me and we spent most of the year getting in trouble for talking when we werre supposed to be reading The Sea Wolf or To Kill a Mockingbird and answering questions on these awful study guides. Dane was always up for an adventure, usually with a little danger involved. The night before graduation he talked me and Lanny into camping out on Mt. Tam as symbolic of something. We drove around for awhile around midnight, avoiding cops and rangers and finally parked near the summit and headed off down the trail with our sleeping bags. We never did find a good camp spot so we just slept on the trail. At dawn we drove home, got cleaned up and went to the final graduation practice.
In college, Dane would show up at our place in Berkeley whenever he had vacation from Harvard. One spring break he talked us into a backpacking trip to Big Sur. Lanny, Terry, Dane and I piled into Lanny's van and headed south. I remember about the second day we found a bathtub sized pool in the stream we camped by and Dane said we should make a sweat lodge. With sticks, our plastic ponchos and a little rope we made a small domed tent. We built a fire, heated some rocks which we gingerly moved inside the "lodge". Then we proceded to drip water on the hot rocks to make steam. We could only fit one of us inside at a time. It sorta worked and it did feel good to soak in the stream afterwards.
A couple of years later I got my first teaching job when Dane showed up again. This time it was Easter break and he said we should go see the Grand Canyon. By now I had a car, some money and a week off so I agreed. We drove my VW bug to the South Rim and headed down the Bright Angel trail. Dane's idea was to go down to the river and back to the rim in one day and I didn't know any better. We took off mid-morning with Dane leading at a good pace. We made it most of the way to the river before I convinced him we should head back. I was low on water, but we did make it back before dark. I don't think he had to carry me, but I'm sure I slowed him down more than a little.
Once Dane told me how much fun The Dipsea was. I decided to give it a try. I saw him at the start of the race and he did wait for me in Stinson Beach afterward but again I think he had to wait quite a while for me to finish.
I have a lot of good memories of Dane and all the places he liked--Mill Valley, Limantour Beach, The Lion's Share and free concerts at Stern Grove and Speedway Meadows or just hanging out in San Francisco and Sausalito. He introduced me to yoga and the poetry of Gary Snyder. His spirit lives on in the people and places for which he cared. Thanks Dane.