Rev. Peter M. Larsen Remembered as Beloved Spiritual Leader

Rev. Peter M. Larsen died Monday, Nov. 4 after a short but courageous battle with cancer at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

Peter was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and raised in Central Florida, where his father was an Episcopal minister. He graduated from Wofford College in South Carolina and earned a Master of Divinity degree from The Virginia Theological Seminary. He also graduated from the Navy Chaplaincy School in Newport, Rhode Island.

Upon ordination, he served the Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Washington, D.C., South Carolina, Rhode Island, and, for last 26 years of active duty, in Southampton, as the rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church and summer supply priest at St. Andrew’s Dune Church.

While in the Navy Reserve he served for 30 years and retired with the rank of captain. In 1998 he was selected ‘Chaplain of the Year’ by the Reserve Officers Association in Washington, D.C. He was recalled to active duty twice for service following the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996 and for the World Trade Center disaster in 2001. In 2002 he was awarded the Good Samaritan Award by East End Hospice ‘for his example and dedication to achieve a better life for the people of the East End.’ Peter was on the Board of Southampton Hospital for 15 years and served as its chairman from 2004 to 2014. In 2013 he received the United Hospital Fund’s Distinguished Trustee award.

Survivors include his loving wife of 38 years Nancy, and their three children, stepson John Buckley of Boulder, CO; daughter Kate Larsen Blount and her husband, Jay of Bronxville; and son Sam Larsen of Middletown, RI. He also leaves behind three grandsons.

When he retired in 2015, he and Nancy moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After nine years of Southern living, the lure of children and grandchildren in NY and RI became too great and they moved back north. Peter was an integral part of the original group that planned and founded Peconic Landing and it was always his plan to return and live there.

The family would like to recognize the staff at Peconic Landing for their care of Peter during his final months. Any gifts in Peter’s memory may be given to the charity of your choice, St. Andrew’s Dune Church or East End Hospice. To honor his wishes, no funeral or memorial service is planned.

It goes without saying that Peter was intensely spiritual. But he was also exceedingly loyal, generous beyond measure, deeply patriotic, and truly humble. Every year on the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, he spoke to the Catholic chaplain who was assigned to the site by the Coast Guard to exchange memories of the days at Ground Zero. He was often called upon to lead the Veteran’s Day memorial services at Lake Agawam and never once missed a 4th of July parade.

He wore the mantle of his ministry lightly, never taking himself or the church too seriously but with a respectful humanity that put love and kindness before retribution and guilt. For 41 years he began every Sunday sermon with a joke or personal story. Besides his pop quizzes – from Mother’s Day traditions to the origins of Thanksgiving – the highlight of the church year for many of his devoted parishioners was Super Bowl Sunday: basing his annual prediction on scripture, he prophesied the winner and exact score. He never got it right.

Peter officiated at countless weddings, baptisms, and funerals. He treated these private services with the joy and dignity that each deserved, unifying the participants with sincerity and grace. He was highly disciplined and a man of strict habit, some might say even set in his ways. He cherished his morning breakfasts at Sip ‘n Soda and early dinners at Shippy’s (the sizzling filet) or Fellingham’s (the Mario Le Mieux burger). For 20 years, he relished his annual visit to Aruba with family and friends. Same drinks, same tiki hut. He rarely went out on a Saturday night. He loved all animals and was hopelessly sentimental. He had a fine tenor voice and sang his beloved hymns with gusto. His knowledge of religion and theology was prodigious. He loved the Red Sox. The Yankees, not so much.

Peter saved his strongest love for his faith and his family, making no apologies for either his beliefs or his complete devotion to his wife and children. Peter saw the good in every living thing and he lived his own life in service to others. With warmth and quiet modesty, Peter impacted the lives of everyone he knew. And all are better for having known him.