Larkin Mead Hasbrouck died at age 86 on Oct. 22, 2019. He was the first-born child of Richard and Katherine Hasbrouck of Bronxville, N.Y. He had two younger sisters, Tryntje and Jane. Larkin’s youth was spent between Philadelphia, Penn., where he graduated from Friends Central High School and Norfolk, Conn., where his family had their summer home. In 1955, he graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. He then worked on engineering circuit design projects around the country, eventually returning to Norfolk, where his family now lived year round. He worked for the Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies in Windsor Locks. He was briefly married to Marilyn Davidson of Utica, N.Y., but had no children.

Larkin loved everything about Norfolk and bought 33 acres on Estey Road to build the log cabin of his dreams. This he worked on over several years, absolutely by himself except for the help of a stone mason, who built Larkin’s huge central fireplace. Larkin spent the rest of his life living in his highly unusual, lofty cabin, collecting motorcycles, cars, guns, machinery, artwork and antiques, improving his property, making maple syrup and enjoying his close friends while he commuted to Windsor Locks. 

Tragically, in December of 2016, his house burned to the ground. Two weeks later he fell and broke his neck. When he recovered from surgery at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital, he went to live with his surviving sister, Jane, and her husband Douglas Duncan in West Glover, Vt. In July 2017, the three of them moved to Sequim, Wash., where Larkin chose a home with a stunning view of the Olympic Mountains. 

At this point he was developing congestive lung disease, and dementia began to affect his life. His last months were spent in memory care following a weeklong hospitalization for severe lung congestion from which he never fully recovered. His very last words were, “I built the best log cabin in the world.” He did!

There will be no formal memorial service.