A Journey Through the Life of L. Keville Larson, Forestry Consultant

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A Journey Through the Life of L. Keville Larson, Forestry Consultant

Laurens Keville Larson (1937–2023)

It was July 2023, and I was finally traveling to Mobile, Alabama, to conduct an oral history with Keville Larson. This interview was some time in the making. During the height of Covid quarantining, Steven Anderson and I attempted to interview him over Zoom. It wasn’t an ideal situation, so we had to wait some time until we could meet in person. On a hot and humid summer day, we made our way to the offices of Larson & McGowin in Mobile, where I would learn much about Keville’s life.

Born Laurens Keville Larson on September 6, 1937, Keville grew up in a secluded suburb outside New York City, where he spent much of his childhood playing outside and watching his father take care of the trees on their property. His father, Lawrence Keville Larson, worked for Weyerhaeuser Timber Company in pulp and paper sales; his mother’s family owned a sawmill in Alabama. You could say that Keville had forestry in his blood.

As a teenager, Keville began working occasionally at his family’s sawmill, girdling trees and painting land lines. After high school, he pursued a degree in geography from Stanford University while working odd jobs in forestry over the summers. When recalling his summertime excursions, he talked about how he and his peers had fun in the woods while on the job.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Keville had the opportunity to spend time in the woods of Wisconsin, France, and Sweden, learning about the different trees in those areas and how to manage them while pursuing an undergraduate degree in geography at Stanford University. This gave Keville a real advantage before attending the Yale School of Forestry and earning a Master’s of Forestry degree in 1961.

Keville then joined his uncle’s business, Pomeroy & McGowin Forest Service Company, which offered an array of forest management services.

By 1968, the company had grown to the point where Keville’s uncle split from Pomeroy to form Larson & McGowin, Inc. While Pomeroy worked with larger landowners, this new company focused on providing forestry consulting on smaller parcels of land. Keville rose through the ranks and, after his uncle’s death in 1973, he became president and owner of the company. It was also around this time that Keville started participating in professional organizations, including the Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF), the Alabama Forestry Association (AFA), and the Forest Landowner’s Association (FLA). Being active in these organizations helped grow his network and the business.

As part of running the business, Keville was called upon to be an expert witness in numerous court trials. Keville shared one of his favorite memories of doing so:

Through the years, Keville continued to advise people on how to best take care of their lands and forests. He grew his connections within organizations like ACF, serving as president from 1982 to 1984, often taking his family on vacations wherever they had their annual meetings—from New Brunswick, Canada, to California to Wisconsin to Florida. Larson & McGowin continued to be a family endeavor—his daughter Jessica became involved in the business as a Property Tax Manager and Timberland Real Estate Broker. Jessica is involved with the FLA and also is part of a group of Mobile women whose families own timber. She also attended the Seventh World Forest Congress in the 1990s, of which Keville was a board member and chairman.

Besides forestry, Keville was highly involved with his community. Through his mother’s influence as a pianist, Keville developed a keen interest in music. He has served as president of Greater Mobile Concerts, Inc., the Mobile Opera, and the Allied Arts Council of Metropolitan Mobile. His passion for the arts was complemented by his active participation in the Mobile Rotary Club and the City of Mobile Museum.

When finishing up our conversation, Keville offered one last piece of advice to other forestry consultants:

Keville passed away in the fall of 2023, just a few months after our interview. His legacy is marked not only by his profound impact on forestry but also his unwavering commitment to his community and family. His life's work will continue to inspire those in the forestry profession and beyond.

To learn more about Keville’s life and career, find the full transcript in our Oral History Guide.