Claudia Jean “CJ” Larson passed away of natural causes at her son’s home in Helena, Montana, on March 20, 2025. She was 82.

CJ was born in 1942 to Wyman C. Peterson and Jean M. Paterson in Conrad, Montana. At age five, the family moved to Kalispell, Montana, where CJ “grew up on a horse” exploring the countryside west of town. Each summer, the family spent several weeks in a cabin on Lake McDonald, a highlight of CJ’s youth which led to her lifelong love of Glacier National Park.

CJ graduated from Flathead High School in 1960 and Mills College in 1964. After returning to Kalispell, she married L. Peter Larson in 1965 and had son Brent and twin daughters Robin and Julie. While her children were young, CJ sewed their clothes, played tournament bridge, took up jogging (initially in moccasins), and learned to hang wallpaper, which eventually became a business venture. CJ also imparted her love of the outdoors to her children. Several times each summer, she loaded up the kids and their friends, hitched a camper-trailer to the pickup, and set off for Fish Creek or Tally Lake campground.

After divorcing in 1976, CJ got her first Harlequin Great Dane in 1977, and moved to Kailua, Hawaii, in 1978. There, she continued wallpapering, chauffeuring kids to various activities, and jogging, now barefooted on the beach. CJ returned to Kalispell in 1982 and took computer courses at Flathead Valley Community College, which she put to use first as a legal secretary and then as a medical transcriptionist. She resumed knitting, a hobby that ultimately spanned six decades and produced countless one-of-a-kind garments for family and friends. She also continued jogging, now in running shoes with a Walkman invariably playing Bruce Springsteen.

Once the nest was empty, CJ lived independently in the Flathead Valley, finally settling in Happy Valley south of Whitefish in 1992. Her love of flowers and art were expressed in prolific gardens and the many desktop publishing creations she gifted or sold on eBay. CJ also loved driving out to the woods with her son to gather fuel for her wood stove. Using her electric chainsaw, she sawed up the logs herself and stacked them in her carport for the winter months. With the arrival of granddaughters Ingrid and Astrid in the early 2000s, CJ’s knitting productivity achieved new heights.

Throughout her adult years, CJ was an avid reader, a fierce opponent at the card table, and a creative and generous gifter who never forgot a birthday or special occasion. She always had a Harlequin Great Dane and at least one cat, and was a lifelong supporter of the Humane Society and Great Dane rescues. Among her many favorite quotes was one by Will Rogers: “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”

In 2016, CJ moved to Helena to live with her son, where she continued to knit, read, play cards, do crossword puzzles, study bridge hands, and provide commentary on his flowerbeds. CJ spent the last months of her life in a personalized “tiny house” behind her son’s home, a setup made possible by the exceptional care of home health aides Tonja and Amanda, nurse Rebecca, and the entire staff at A-Plus HealthCare in Helena.

CJ is survived by her three children and two grandchildren. CJ did not desire a formal service, thus the family suggests honoring her memory by hugging a pet, planting a flower, visiting a favorite place, or making a donation to an animal-related cause.