Larry Tande, 83, Medford

Larry Tande, of rural Medford, always referred to life as a JOURNEY. Now at 83 years of age and 15 challenging years of multiple myeloma, his journey on earth has come to an end. Larry passed away Saturday, March 26, 2022, at his home.
Visitation will be Friday, April 8, 2022, at the Medford Funeral Home, 310 E. Central Ave., Medford from 4 to 7 p.m. Funeral service will be Saturday, April 9, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at First English Lutheran Church in Faribault, with the visitation continuing at the church one hour prior to the service. The service will be live streamed on the Facebook page for First English Lutheran Church.
Oh, what a journey Larry has traveled!
Larry Anton Tande was born Dec. 19, 1938, to Leslie and Gertrude (Hennis) Tande of rural
Madelia. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith at Rosendale Lutheran Church, resulting in a strong Christian faith his entire life. His formal education began in country school, followed by Madelia High School where he was active in FFA. After graduating with honors in 1956, he continued his education at the U of M where he majored in ag education.
After student teaching in Mountain Lake, he felt the classroom form of teaching was too confining and was not for him, and that Extension would be a better fit. He was hired by the U of M Extension Service in 1960 as assistant ag agent working with the 4-H program in Steele County. This was a great fit for Larry as he had been an active 4-Her in Watonwan County, winning a trip to National 4-H Club Congress representing Minnesota as the 4-H Dairy Project winner and two years later to the National 4-H Dairy Conference. His final 4-H Dairy Show at the Minnesota State Fair, showing "Flash,” his purebred Holstein cow, resulted in a champion ribbon and silver coffee service.
The Steele County 4-H program flourished under his leadership with 1,250+ members in 32 clubs. Larry also went on to earn his Master’s degree in dairy science and horticulture at the U of M during this time. Larry left Steele County in 1973 and joined the State 4-H Staff as State 4-H Livestock Specialist. During this time ID's were started as well as the rate of gain program for the meat animal projects and genetic awards for dairy. He also rewrote/updated all the 4-H livestock manuals/bulletins.
When Russ Gute, Steele County ag agent, retired, Larry was lured back to Steele County as Steele County ag agent and County Extension director. This was followed by serving as Extension Regional Director supervising staff in South Central and Southeast Minnesota until his retirement after 42 years with the Minnesota Extension Service.
At a Southeast District Extension Conference, Larry met Carolyn Opjorden, the Rice County Extension home agent. A few months later, Larry was strongly encouraged by a co-worker of his to invite Carolyn to attend a movie with him that was playing in Owatonna. He was sure she wouldn't go, but finally called. She said, "Yes,” but it would have to be the second show because she had choir practice earlier. (The movie was "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”) As they say, "The rest is history.”
Larry and Carolyn were married Oct. 11, 1964, at Kviteseid Lutheran Church in Milan, Minn. They have been blessed with two children: Tara (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) is a German tour guide and emergency and incident coordinator for Rick Steves' Europe and Thane (Prior
Lake) owns the Knotty Oar Marina in Prior Lake. Seven grandchildren are special blessings: Tatum, Tana, Dakin, Dahvi, and Dassi Tande and Poppy and Sage Swenson.
Along with his career in Extension, Larry bred Registered Holsteins beginning with two that were 4-H projects for Tara and Thane. The herd continued to grow and under the Tande prefix, 98% of the herd was home bred. You could often see them in the ring at the Steele County Fair as well as at the Minnesota State Fair. He bred his cattle for production and type and his classification BAA for his herd was among the top 25 in the nation. The Progressive Breeders Registry Award was awarded several years. The highlight was seeing Tara's Holstein heifer, "Ajax,” win Reserve Junior Champion at the 1980 World Dairy Expo. The herd was dispersed in 2013.
Larry considered his membership in organizations to be leadership opportunities. He served on several committees at First English Lutheran Church including church council, president of church council, chair of a call committee, and member of the LEAD team. Of course, helping during the annual lefse making days at Christmas time was much fun! He served on the Minnesota Holstein Board of Directors, was president, and in 1989 was the chair of the National Holstein Convention held in Minnesota.
In 2001, he was elected to the Holstein Association USA Board of Directors serving for six years, followed by two years as vice president and two years as president. During this time, he was involved in developing training conferences for those who wished to be judges of dairy cattle. This approved list is now used for shows at all levels. He also led the work for updating the illustrations of the true type Holstein cow and bull, setting the standards for Holstein type around the world. He was Open Class Dairy Superintendent of the Minnesota State Fair for several years. He had leadership roles in numerous other organizations including: Minnesota PDCA Board of Directors, Minnesota Livestock Breeders Association Board of Directors, National PDCA Board of Directors, World Dairy Expo Board of Directors, Holstein Foundation Board of Trustees, President of Minnesota Association of Extension Agents, to name a few.
Larry was a well-known and sought-after dairy cattle judge. He judged over 620 dairy cattle shows--most of the Minnesota county fairs, many district shows, many state fairs, three times at World Dairy Expo and several foreign dairy shows including Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Dominican Republic, Spain, Columbia and Ecuador as well as many U.S. National shows. He was well known for his descriptive and easy to understand reasons and sharp eye. He taught several state, regional and national judging conferences for all breeds. He was known for his work, teaching and supporting kids from beginning 4-H members to college judging teams--helping them learn to evaluate and select good cattle. He loved working with the youth and was well respected. He always offered a kind and encouraging word of support. When asked during an interview if he ever received a negative remark about a placing, he replied, "Very few. I simply agree with them. They had the right to their opinion, but that day I was the judge and I got paid for mine." Integrity and kindness were important to him.
With his leadership skills appreciated by so many, he humbly accepted numerous awards: Steele County Livestock Hall of Fame; Minnesota Holstein Association President's Award, Person of the Year Award, Longtime Meritorious Service Award; Minnesota PDCA Distinguished Breeder Award, Distinguished Service Award; Minnesota Livestock Hall of Fame; U of M Gopher Dairy Club Distinguished Service Award, Golden Graduate Award: National Association of Ag Extension Agents Distinguished Service Award; National Pedigree Livestock
Council Distinguished Service Award; Steele County ADA Livestock Achievement Award; and the National Dairy Shrine Pioneer Award. The list goes on.
Larry has now begun a different journey, his Heavenly Journey. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of over 57 years, Carolyn. His children, Tara and Thane, will always have peace remembering his unconditional love and pride in them. His grandson, Dakin, and granddaughters, Tatum, Tana, Poppy, Dahvi, Sage, and Dassi will carry on the fun as they remember Grandpa's yummy caramel rolls, abundant tomatoes from his garden, and the many corners of his farm to explore. Larry is also survived by his brothers Gerald (Arla) and Paul and brother-in-law Luther (Martha) Opjorden as well as by several nieces, nephews, cousins, and a host of colleagues and friends around the world.
Larry shared his final words to be shared with all: "I've had a good life. Don't cry for me. I have been so blessed with my family and career. I couldn't have asked for more!"
Memorials may be directed to Owatonna Homestead Hospice Patient Care Fund, National Holstein Foundation for Dairy Youth Programs, or donor's choice. For more information or to leave an online condolence message visit megercares.com.