Arnold "Arnie" Larsen, 89, beloved husband of Leah Dankel Larson, devoted father, grandfather, and 50-year resident of Fairfield, died July 30. He died peacefully in the Vitas inpatient Hospice Unit at St Mary's Hospital in Waterbury. He was born on January 6, 1927, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was the son of the late Andrew and Gurine Henningsen Larsen.

He was a US Army Air Corps World War II veteran and served as an aviation cadet with the 603rd Tactical Control Squadron in France and Germany. Afterward, he graduated from St Lawrence University, N.Y., where he was a member of both the men's ice hockey and tennis teams. He was inducted into the St Lawrence University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 as a member of the undefeated 1949-1950 "Skating Saints" Men's Ice Hockey Team.

Mr Larson was a sports enthusiast, both as a player and coach. He organized and started the first ice hockey team at Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield. His devotion to the sport awarded him induction into the Greater Bridgeport Junior Hockey Association Hall of Fame in 1997. He was also a ranked New England tennis player for many years, playing many tournaments throughout New England.

He began his career at Reaction Motors, Inc, in Denville, N.J., where he negotiated government contracts. It is here that he met his wife, Leah, who was hired as his secretary.

Mr Larson joined Perkin Elmer Corp and retired in 1987 as a corporate purchasing manager. He then joined the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., where he was contracts manager of astronomy for the Hubble Space Telescope and considered a faculty member of Johns Hopkins University. After retiring from the corporate world, he became a special police agent with the Fairfield Police Department for 19 years.

His wife, Leah, of 59 years; four sons and their wives: Andrew and Beverly of Waterbury, Paul and Barbara of Newtown, Thomas and Debbie of Middlebury, and Matthew and Sylvia of Pinckney, Mich.; grandchildren; sisters Florence Lindland of Wisconsin and Mildred Braaten of Florida; and many nieces and nephews survive him. This year his brothers Henry C. Larsen and Ralph S. Larsen predeceased him.

Friends are invited to attend his funeral on August 2, at 11 am, at the Larson Funeral Home, 2496 North Avenue, Bridgeport. Burial with Military Honors will take place at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield.

Friends may call on Tuesday morning from 10 am until time of service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Fairfield Grace United Methodist Church, 1089 Fairfield Woods Road, Fairfield CT.