Haahr, Lowell J. (1927-2018)

HAAHR, JENSEN, LAURSEN, BROWN, JACOBSON, HATHAWAY, ONEILL, DEFOREST, CURTISS

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 5/18/2021 at 17:36:23

Lowell J. Haahr
July 1, 1927 - December 16, 2018

Lowell Haahr, age 91, of Newell, Iowa, died on Sunday, December 16, 2018, at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Lowell Jensen Haahr was born on July 1, 1927, on a farm east of Newell to Victor Otto and Mildred Agneta (Jensen) Haahr and welcomed by his older sister Elaine. A little more than nine years later, he was welcoming his little sister, Audrey. Baptized and confirmed at the Nain Lutheran Church, Newell, Iowa, he remained an active member his entire life, singing in choir, serving on the church council as well as other committees, and teaching Sunday school classes for a few years.

He graduated from Newell High School in 1945. While in school, he enjoyed participating in musical activities, school plays, and basketball games. In 1943, he, along with his dance partner and cousin, Joyce Andersen, won the school's first jitterbug dance contest. Drafted into the US Army shortly after graduating, he served in the Asiatic Pacific Theater during World War II from August 1945 to December 1946. While in the service, he was stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska, and played the bass drum as a member of the 494th Army Service Forces Band. In addition, he played the harmonica with the “Hog Holler Five,” a band providing music for square dances at the Post Service Club. After the war, he became a lifelong member (sixty-three years) of the Newell American Legion, Post 193.

Following his honorable discharge, Lowell began farming with his father, Victor, until his father’s death in 1949. Lowell, along with his mother, then assumed responsibility for operating the family farm located northeast of Newell. While farming in the 1940s, he attended “winter school” for farmers at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa.

On August 4, 1957, Lowell married Esther Marie Laursen at the Oak Hill Lutheran Church located in the country near Atlantic, Iowa. A few years later, they were blessed with two daughters, Julianne and Sonia. Lowell and Esther lived for forty-four years on the farm near Newell, and shortly after retiring in 2001, they moved to their home in Newell where he spent the remainder of his life.

Music held a prominent place throughout Lowell's life. He loved to sing, perform, and entertain people. During the 1950s, he sang with the Storm Lake Barbershoppers. Many will remember his “One-Man Square Dance” act, which he performed locally as part of a fundraising effort to build a municipal swimming pool in Newell. For several years, he played the drums in “The Rhythmaires,” band, and occasionally, he, also, jammed with other local musicians. He enjoyed listening to jazz from the 1920s, the '30s, and the Big Band era. An animated storyteller, he loved to amuse people with his slapstick antics. Many will remember him for bringing smiles and laughter to their faces, reminding us about the fun that life provides on a regular basis.

Lowell is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Esther Haahr, of Newell; his daughters, Julianne Haahr, of Madison, Wisconsin, and Sonia (Kirk) Brown, of Newell; his grandson, Graham Brown, of Storm Lake, Iowa; his sister, Elaine A. Jacobson, of Sandy Springs (Atlanta), Georgia; his nieces, Vicki Hathaway, of Sandy Springs (Atlanta), Georgia, and Christine (Barry) O'Neill, of North Palm Beach, Florida; and his brothers-in-law, Verner (Barbara) Laursen, of Appleton, Wisconsin, and Paul (Carol) Laursen, of Crawfordsville, Indiana; along with several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Those preceding him in death include his father, Victor; his mother, Mildred; his sister, Audrey D. Deforest, his nephew, Wade Deforest; his brother-in-law, Gail E. (“Jake”) Jacobson; his parents-in-law, John and Metta Laursen; his brother- and sisters-in-law, Marvin and Ardyth Laursen and Vera and Curtiss.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 22, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. at the Nain Lutheran Church in Newell. Burial will follow in the Newell Cemetery. Visitation will take place on Friday, December 21, 2018, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in NEWELL. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Newell is in charge of the arrangements.

Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Newell, Iowa, 2018.

Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
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