John A. Larson, cashier of the Cokeville State Bank and also identified with various other business interests at Cokeville, belongs to that class of men whose industry and enterprise constitute factors not only in the attainment of individual success but also in the promotion of public prosperity. He is now identified with the Reynolds, Smalley, Larson Company and is also the president of the Cokeville Light & Power Company.
    He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, May 12, 1889, a son of Thomas and Sophia Larson. The parents were natives of Norway and came to America in early life. They first settled in Missouri but afterward continued their westward way until they became residents of the Salt Lake valley. The father engaged in railway construction work and was active in building the road from Park City, Utah, to Salt Lake City. At a subsequent period he became a resident of Wyoming, where he established his home in 1903. He made Kemmerer his destination and there remained to the time of his death, which occurred in 1913, when he was forty-nine years of age. He had for a long period survived his wife, who died at Park City, Utah, in 1895. They had a family of five children, namely: Theodore, a prominent attorney of New York city; Albert, who is cashier of the State Bank at Big Piney, Wyoming; Leonard, who is acting as mining engineer for the Nevada Consolidated Mining Company; John A.; and Benjamin, who is now a member of the Engineering Corps of the United States Army.
    In his boyhood John A. Larson attended the schools of Kemmerer and of Salt Lake City, mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools at the former place, while subsequently he became a student in the Collegiate Institute of Salt Lake and next entered the University of Utah. When his textbooks were put aside, at which time he was thoroughly qualified for large responsibilities, he removed to Fort Steele, British Columbia, Canada, where he engaged in mining, and in 1909 he took up his abode in Cokeville, turning his attention to commercial pursuits, in which he was engaged until 1916. He then entered the Cokeville State Bank as cashier and is concentrating his efforts and attention largely upon the management and control of this institution. His efforts have been an important element in advancing general progress and prosperity here, for his business affairs have been of a nature that promotes general improvement as well as individual success. He is associated with the Reynolds, Smalley, Larson Company and is president of the Cokeville Light & Power Company and at the same time he is occupying a position of executive control in one of the leading financial institutions of this section of the state. Of the Reynolds. Smalley, Larson Mercantile Company he is the vice president. His business judgment is sound and his discrimination keen. He readily recognizes opportunities and he has the ability to coordinate seemingly diverse interests into a unified and harmonious whole.
    On the 2^d of September, 1915, Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Stoner, of Cokeville, Wyoming, a daughter of J. W. and Nannie Stoner, the former the founder of the town of Cokeville. Mr. and Mrs. Larson have become the parents of two children: Ruth, who was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in April, 1916; and Pauline, born October 22, 1917.
    Mr. Larson and his wife occupy an enviable position in social circles and enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of this portion of the state. Mr. Larson is a Knight Templar Mason. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has been elected on that ticket to the office of councilman. He has also served on the school board and he puts forth effective and earnest effort to promote the welfare and progress of city and state, cooperating heartily in all plans and measures for the general good. By reason of the extent and importance of his business interests he has gained a wide acquaintance and high regard is entertained for him by all who know him. His life record measures up to advanced standards of manhood and citizenship and the consensus of public opinion places him among the representative residents of Lincoln county.