The oldest living member of NIU’s 26-man All-Century Football Team, Curtis “Tego” Larsen, has died.

Known as both “Tego” and “Coach,” Larsen was born on July 24, 1913 and raised in DeKalb, where he graduated from DeKalb High School.

Lettering in football for three seasons (1936-1938), Larsen was looked upon as one of NIU’s finest guards during legendary coach George “Chick” Evans’ 25 seasons with the Huskies. After captaining NIU’s 6-1-1 Little 19 Conference as a senior, Larsen served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Serving with the 20th Armored Division, which landed in France in 1944, Larsen also played football for Fort Knox.

In all, his teaching and coaching career encompassed 39 years, with a good portion spent teaching industrial arts and coaching both football and golf at Arlington High School from 1946-75.

“There was only one Tego,” said fellow NIU Athletics Hall of Famer Bill Minnihan. “Everybody knew him. He’s the only guy who could still tell you the first person he tackled in a game and/or the name of a player he lined up against 70-some years ago. I’m going to miss him and miss all those great stories. Tego was a loyal Northern Illinois man through and through. You couldn’t find a better man in that aspect.”

Funeral services for Larsen are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday. in the Glueckert Funeral Home, Ltd.,1520 North Arlington Heights Road, in Arlington Heights. Visitation runs from 3-9 p.m. today.