Susan "Claire" Bogdan-Larson

Our beautiful wife and mother, Susan Claire Bogdan-Larson, passed away in her sleep on March 7th, 2025 at the age of 85. After several years of poor health and a recent broken leg, we couldn’t be more grateful for her peaceful departure from this life.

Claire, with her big bright smile, was born in Magrath, the only place she truly considered home, and was the oldest daughter of seven children born to William Moroni and Ethel Idella Blumel. She loved her family and would stay up late with her mother on Christmas Eve dipping chocolates and wrapping Christmas gifts for all the littles in the house. She would also put her siblings to work cleaning the family home to make it shine. She considered it a game, they considered her a tyrant. She held great pride in a spotless house and years later her children were enlisted into the service of waxing bathroom sinks and kitchen floors of her own home. She was convinced she was a cleaning lady in the pre-existence. Her children failed to see the joy in this strange idea.

As a young adult, she moved to the big city of Calgary and was a secretary for a law firm. Years later she would still use the short-hand she learned there to make notes for herself. She met and married the dashing Stevan Bogdan and had two children. But, longing for the only place she truly considered home, they moved back to Magrath and had two more children. Steve’s work in the oil camps and an early death caused Claire to essentially be a single parent for much of her life. And she did it with grace. 

While raising her four children, she was also called to be the Relief Society president. It was a busy time for her, and it blessed her with long lasting friendships. Claire loved the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and went to work without hesitation. The gospel was her favorite topic, her scriptures were her most treasured possession and her faith was unshakable. 

In 1986, Claire moved to Lethbridge to be closer to her business, The Lethbridge Family Home daycare. She was smart and ran the business so efficiently she was able to retire early and go on a mission to Kingston, Jamaica. She had great joy in the mission field and her magnetic personality drew missionaries to her office for advice and counsel.

When she returned home from her mission she lived in an empty house and we worried about her being alone. We thought maybe she should get a dog to keep her company, which she was considering, but then a handsome, blue-eyed Jim Larson showed up to cut down one of her trees and she called her children to let them know she had found something better than a dog. Claire and Jim married in May of 2001 and quickly settled into a life of cooking and canning and weeding together. They would stay up late talking, then wake up in the middle of the night and talk some more. They would read scriptures together every morning and held many joint callings in their ward. Their life was better together.

In the summer of 2024, Claire and Jim moved back to Magrath and she passed away in the only place she truly considered home.

With broken hearts, Claire leaves behind her husband Jim Larson; her children Scott Bogdan, Kelly (Greg) Johnson, Bruce (Heidi) Bogdan, and Patti (Mike) Uytdewilligen; daughter-in-law Nikki Bogdan; fourteen grandchildren she loved more than her own children; and five great grandchildren she loved even more. She also leaves behind Jim’s children, Barbra Duncan, Jane (Donny) Gibb, Bud (Alyssa) Larson, Andrea Larson, Trish Anderson, Lindsay Larson; thirty grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren. They shared many waffle parties together.

The Funeral Service will be held at the Lethbridge Alberta East Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (4105 Forestry Ave S), on Wednesday, March 12th at 11:00am. Friends may meet the family prior to the service from 10:00 -10:45am. Burial will take place at the Magrath Cemetery at 2:00pm. 

Live stream will be available and a link will appear below this obituary 15 minutes before service start.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Susan "Claire" Bogdan-Larson, please visit our floral store.