Larry Ellestad

March 10, 1946 – January 29, 2022

Larry Allen Ellestad passed away peacefully with his family surrounding him on Jan. 29, 2022, after a battle with terminal COPD. If you knew Larry, you knew that mischievous glimmer in his eye when he was about to pull a prank or say something ornery. He was brave and irreverent in his practical jokes and pranks. Brave, because he knew that in return, he would soon be the recipient of an equally outrageous prank. These pranks were unmistakably based in love and friendship by all. Like he said, if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.

Larry was substantially more than just a joker. He was deeply respected and loved by countless folks because he was good to his community. Larry was born on March 10, 1946, above a drugstore in northern Minnesota. Even from the beginning, his life was remarkable. When he was nine months old, he was the first meningitis patient treated with penicillin to survive. When he was a grade-schooler his family settled in Moses Lake, where Larry raised his daughter and countless other “kids” who loved to fish, hunt and hang around him and the family business.

He was a small business (Vern’s Moses Lake Meats) owner with his family since 1962, where he supported many local charities and causes to include local 4-H, police and fire fighters, women and infant organizations and youth programs. He initiated and developed a successful business relationship with Japan Airlines, where he exported his USDA-approved products to Japan via the JAL pilots. Of course, he became more than business partners with the pilots of JAL, and you could often find him teaching them how to fish all over Grant County. He was an avid hunter and a semi-professional fisherman. In 1992, he won first place in the first walleye tournament held on Moses Lake and then went on to win it again in 2002. He also won the Rod Meseberg Walleye Tournament, and he was often a contender in the Columbia River Valley Anglers Circuit. He did right by others. In 2003 Larry and his brother exhibited diligence and thoroughness in helping the USDA to discover the first case of mad cow disease in the United States. Then, in 2014 his business was inducted into the Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Hall of Fame.

He was a lifetime member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and hunted on horseback in the Rocky Mountains. In addition, he was a water skier, motorcyclist, and snowmobiler. Larry was raised Lutheran, and his faith was evident in his values and character as he worked hard and played hard. All of these accomplishments pale in comparison to his love and loyalty to family and friends.

He is preceded in death by his father Vernon Ellestad (1919-2010), brother Roger Ellestad (1957-2014), sister Alice Fritz (1953-2020) and many other loved ones. He is survived by his loving wife Susan Ellestad, daughter Sundae Delgado, granddaughter Addy Delgado (age 14), grandsons Ethan Delgado (age 17), Noah Delgado (Megan), Brandon Delgado (Molly) and great grandchildren Callie (age 6) and Flynn (age 3), and his son-in-law and fishing partner Frankie Delgado. Larry is also survived by his mother Evie Ellestad (1926) with whom he shared a close relationship that was evident by multiple daily phone calls. He also leaves behind sibling Tom Ellestad with wife Marla and their sons Glen and Mark Ellestad; his uncle Gordon Ellestad (1929); his nieces Renee Hopkins-Booher, Nyla Fritz, Lenea Fritz and Samantha Weldon; and many other friends and family who loved him like family.

There will be a service for Larry at Living Word Lutheran Church, 2609 W. Broadway Ave., on Feb. 12, 2022, at 11 a.m. All are invited to attend and encouraged to bring your own stories of Larry to be written down and recorded in family history.