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1938 Lawrence 2023

Lawrence L. Wacken

November 16, 1938 — March 18, 2023

Lawrence “Larry” Lee Wacken passed away at the age of 84 on Saturday, March 18th, 2023 surrounded by his family.

Larry was born on November 16th, 1938 in Salem, OR to Mary and Theodore Wacken. He lived on the family farm where they raised livestock, hazelnuts, and berries. While going to South Salem High School, Larry obtained his private pilot license at only 16 years old. He did crop dusting across much of the western United States. He then earned his commercial pilot license at 18 years old, as well as his Aircraft Engineer and Mechanic License. At 22 years old, he started as an Oregon state trooper in Albany, then onto Lincoln City, to Arlington as a station commander totaling 18 years. For his last 12 years in the workforce, he worked for Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS) in Salem. His interests included black powder rifle shooting, riding motorcycles, woodworking, and building boats. He was also considered the current day Dr. Dolittle, caring for all animals in his path, no matter how big or small. Anyone he ran into throughout his life would describe him as smart, gentle, selfless, and humble.

He was a member of the Willamette Modelers Club, Mason, Shriner, Scottish Rite and Elks organizations. In 1997, Larry met his future wife and love of his life, Freddi and married each other in 2000. Larry was preceded in death by his 11 month old son, Rusty. He is survived by his wife Freddi, sister Marlene, sons Steve and Joey, daughter Jessie (Ben), grandchildren Mark (Donna), Julie (Austin), Hannah, Hayley, Keanna, Nick, niece Lisa (Arnold), nephews Tom (Cynthia), and Doug. After a long illness, Larry decided to enter in-home hospice. We’d like to thank the late Dr. Orlowski, Dr. Petrunin, and the entire staff at Oregon Oncology Specialists. Also, a special thanks to Dr. Mark Fischl who worked so hard to keep his diabetes in check. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, May 21st at 1 PM located at the Green Barn Villa.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be designated to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Lawrence L. Wacken, please visit our flower store.

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