Lawrence K. "Larry" Hedlin

Lawrence K. “Larry” Hedlin, 80, died for the second time on November 2, 2021. After being resuscitated following cardiac arrest in November 2020, he succumbed to prostate cancer and died peacefully at home, in the arms of the family who meant everything to him.

Larry was born May 17, 1941 in Glenwood, MN, the oldest of the four sons of Mildred (Anderson) and Walter Hedlin. He grew up on the family’s dairy farm near Lowry, MN and graduated from Glenwood High School in 1959. He graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, where he met his future wife, Vicki Krenik. They were married October 3, 1964, in Christ Chapel on the Gustavus campus and lived in Roseville, MN while he finished his master’s degree at the University of Minnesota.

They moved to St. Louis, MO when he was hired by Monsanto Company’s Agricultural Division. During his 10-year career with them, interrupted by service in the Marine Corps Reserves, he progressed through sales and management positions and lived in Allentown, PA (where daughter Pamela was born), Des Moines (birthplace of daughter Laura) and St. Louis. After serving as Regional Sales Manager for the Western US, Larry resigned so that he and Vicki could move back to Des Moines, open their own business, and raise their daughters in a place they had grown to love.

Larry and Vicki founded Hedlin Ag Enterprises, an agricultural executive search and consulting business, in 1975 and worked together for 19 years. Larry sold the firm to Kevin Drury in 2001, and Kevin continued its successful operation and has retained the company name – a tribute Larry always cherished.

Larry served on boards of directors including EMC National Life, Record Printing Company, Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Des Moines Symphony Foundation, and St. John’s Lutheran Church Foundation. He was a 12-year volunteer for Iowa SHIIP, assisting seniors with Medicare issues, and also served St. John’s Lutheran Church as president and in other leadership roles.

Larry and Vicki traveled extensively throughout the US and 30 other countries and especially enjoyed their extended stays in Italy, France, Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic with Pamela and Michael and Laura and Greg. Larry’s life was enriched by summers in Summit County, CO, fishing and golf trips with close buddies, weekly breakfasts with fellow retirees, Twins and Royals games, bridge, reading, analyzing and managing finances, and working outdoors. His granddaughters will long remember that their Papa rode the Adventureland Monster with them, took them swimming at the West Des Moines “beach,” and shared State Fair turkey drumsticks with them during their summer visits. His many friends know how much he loved delicious food and Single Malt Scotch. His brothers know that his competitiveness in games of Rook, cribbage or croquet was overshadowed only by his fierce loyalty to and love of family. His wife will forever cherish the strong love and unique partnership they shared, and to his daughters he will always be their rock—their beloved Padre.

Larry’s survivors are his wife, Vicki; daughters Pamela Morton (Michael) and Laura Hedlin (Greg Katai), all of Denver; granddaughters Alexandra and Maddie Morton of Denver; brothers Myron (Edie) of Arlington, VA, Vernon (Dorothy) of Farwell, MN, and David (Carol) of New Lenox, IL; and his mother-in-law, Crystal Krenik of St. Peter, MN. He was preceded in death by his parents and his father in-law, Stanley Krenik.

The family invites friends to greet them at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, on November 19 from 4-6 pm. There will be a funeral service at Norunga Lutheran Church, Lowry, MN, at 4 pm on November 20, 2021. His ashes will be interred at both Norunga Lutheran Church and Greenwood Union Cemetery in Le Center, MN.

Memorials may be directed to the Des Moines Symphony Association or EveryStep Hospice, Des Moines.

Print