Georgia A. Larke Obituary
Internment and celebration of life details will be shared at a future date. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to one of the following non- profit organizations: Calhoun County Animal Center, 165 S Union St., Battle Creek, MI 49014; Miles for Memories Community Project Fund, C/O Battle Creek Community Foundation, 32 West Michigan Ave., Suite 1, Battle Creek, MI 49017; or Jam for the Cure, 625 W Green St., Marshall, MI 49068, c/o the funeral home.
Georgia Ann (Bruen/Conklin) Chaney Larke, 86, died peacefully on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo. Georgia had been struggling several years with Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. Georgia was born June 19, 1938, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to George T. Bruen and Kathyrn H. (Mantele) Bruen. She later was adopted by her stepfather, Kenneth A. Conklin. Georgia graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1956, from Bronson Methodist Hospital School of Nursing as a registered nurse in 1958, and from Nazareth College with a master's degree in business administration in 1982.
Her marriage to Gene A. Chaney, which began in 1957, ended in divorce. On June 12, 1974, Georgia married the love of her life, Erwin Robert "Bob" Larke, who died in January 2013. Georgia's accomplishments included working in the surgical department at Leila Y. Post Montgomery Hospital from 1961 to 1982. During the hospital's 1970s remodeling, she served as head nurse of surgery and was later promoted to director of surgery. In 1982, Georgia and her husband moved to Fort Myers Beach, Florida, after she accepted a position as vice president of surgical services at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers.
While in Fort Myers, she also played a key role in the 1991 opening of the surgery department at HealthPark Medical Center. Georgia retired from Lee Memorial in 1994. Georgia frequently attended conventions of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN). Some of her medical and surgical expertise was reviewed and published in the organization's journal. As avid dancers, Georgia and Bob enjoyed several Michigan club memberships, their favorite venue being the late Don Neal's Mr. T-Bone Restaurant and Nightclub in Kalamazoo; there, Neal often referred to the couple as "Mr. & Mrs. Beaujolais" in honor of a favorite beverage.
In Fort Myers, they became active members of the Caloosahatchee River Cloggers exhibition team and traveled throughout the South with the team, which showcased their talent. The couple's love of travel took them across the United States, often with family and friends, and they held a special fondness for the western mountains. They loved their many white-water rafting, and national park vacations. They also enjoyed trips to Alaska, Sweden, Ireland and a cruise on the Rhine River. On retirement, the couple moved from Florida to their dream home overlooking the Nantahala National Forest in Blairsville, Georgia.
In Blairsville, Georgia expanded her musical talents to include playing flute, Irish whistle, dulcimer and fiddle with a close group of local musicians. Georgia also enjoyed photographing sunrises, sunsets, birds, deer and even a bear that visited their mountaintop backyard. On her husband's death in 2013, Georgia returned to Michigan to live in Battle Creek. Georgia was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bob; a daughter, Laura Lee Chaney; and special grandparents. She is survived by her daughter, Theresa Chaney-Huggett of Marshall; a stepdaughter, Sharyl (Douglas) McCarthy of Chandler, Arizona; a stepson, Daryl (Sue) Larke of Hastings; brothers, Kenneth Conklin of Los Angeles, California, Charles (Cam) Conklin of North Richland Hills, Texas, and Fredric (Connie) Conklin of Tiburon, California; 11 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Cremation has taken place.
