Harmon, Fern 1916-2010

HARMON, LIGGETT, ZIMMERMAN, MESSERSCHMIDT, HALL, FORD, VAN ZALE, HART, KLOBERDANZ, BARNES, JANSSEN

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 4/30/2014 at 18:25:57

Fern Harmon
February 27, 1916 ~ June 24, 2010

Fern was born Feb. 27, 1916, in a sod house on her parent's homestead near Limon, Colo. Her parents were Grace Liggett and John Franklin Zimmerman. She was raised in southern Iowa, graduated from Corydon High School, and taught in country schools for nine years.

In 1943, she married J. Herbert Harmon of Ankeny. They moved to a farm in the Granger area in 1948 and she lived there until her death. She was a 50-year member of the First Presbyterian Church of Grimes. She belonged to the Dallas County Rock Club, Women's Farm Bureau, and Des Moines Quilt Guild. She served as a leader of the Beaver Valley Girls 4-H Club and was Clerk of Jefferson Township Trustees.

Fern enjoyed baking, quilting, crafts, gardening, and farm life. Family was the center of her life. She took an interest in all of her daughters', grandchildren’s, and great-grandchildren’s activities. She looked
forward to Sunday nights, when family and friends would gather at the farm, a tradition dating back 45 years.

Fern is survived by three daughters, Lola (Tom) Zimmerman of West Des Moines, Joyce (Don) Hart of
Granger, and Beth (Mike) Messerschmidt of Adel; her sister Fay (Robert) Hall of Pearland, Texas;
brother-in-law Nevin (Bonita) Harmon of Ankeny. Grandchildren, Linda Ford of Ankeny,
Lynn Zimmerman of Centennial, Colo., Mary (Phil) Van Zale of Boulder, Colo., Adrienne Hart
(Matt Kloberdanz) of Riverton, DeAnn (Jeff) Barnes of Ames, Jennifer (Mark) Janssen of Marshalltown, Mark Messerschmidt of Bouton, and Greg (Chelsey) Messerschmidt of West Jefferson, Ohio. Great-grandchildren, Megan and Noah Ford, Katie and Erin Barnes, Maeve and Jorja Janssen, and Ayla Hart.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert; parents, John and Grace; sister, Fairy (Bud)Zimmerman; and brother-in-law, Bob (Ethel) Harmon. ~ The Iles Brandt Chapel, Dallas Center Iowa June 2010.