Haitian earthquake victim Ben Larson remembered in song

Wartburg Theological Seminary of Dubuque student Ben Larson was remembered Friday in the way he would have wanted to be remembered, say his friends--with a service of music and prayer.

Larson, a 2006 Luther College graduate, was killed January 12th in the earthquake in Haiti.

On Friday afternoon in Decorah his friends and family gathered to remember his life by holding a hymn singing and a memorial service. Luther College Campus Minister Pastor Mike Blair said the events reminded him of Ben's favorite saying: "Music will be necessary."

Ben Larson sang in choirs all four years he attended Luther College, serving as president of the Luther College Nordic Choir his senior year. La Crosse, Wisconsin ELCA Synod Bishop Jim Arends told the memorial service "his singing brought us joy. His songs taught us joy."

Those remembering Ben Larson spoke often about his sense of joy. "So much light and life and fun he had," remembered his former Luther College English professor, Lise Kildegaard. Bishop Arends said simply, "Ben could talk."

Said Kildegaard, "Ben didn't just march to a different drummer, he WAS the different drummer and sometimes he even brought his own drum." She remembers one assignment where she told her English class to "do something creative" and Ben brought in one dozen eggs and a bowl, cracking the eggs in the bowl. When she asked Ben what the eggs were supposed to represent, he replied "H'Omelet," and sang a song he had made up for the assignment.

Ben Larson was "a funny, joyful, musical and deeply thinking person," said Kildegaard.

The preacher for the memorial service, Pastor Rafael Malpica, executive director, ELCA Global Mission, said it would be easy to ask why Ben died. But Rev. Malpica pointed out, "We find God in those places where we think it is impossible to be...we find God under the rubble in Port-au-Prince." Continued Rev. Malpica, "The way (Ben) lived and the way he died showed us Ben was passionate about God's children--especially those at the margins of society."

Ben Larson, his wife, Renee Splichal Larson, and his cousin, Jonathan Larson, all three students at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, were in Haiti learning from the people of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Haiti. Renee and Jon escaped after the top two floors of the six-story St. Joseph's Home for Boys in Port-au-Prince collapsed in the wake of the earthquake. Ben was trapped inside the building. His body, along with the bodies of hundreds of thousands of Haitians, has not been recovered yet.

Those wishing to make a memorial gift in Ben's honor are being asked to contribute to ELCA Disaster Response Haiti Earthquake relief at https://community.elca.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=538 or to Wartburg Seminary, where Ben was a student, at http://www.wartburgseminary.edu.