Harold Benjamin Connell 1903-1922

CONNELL, SIEMENS, KEYSOR

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 9/4/2008 at 18:16:16

Brooklyn (IA) Chronicle; July 13, 1922

HAROLD BENJAMIN CONNELL

Harold Benjamin Connell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Loyd Connell, was born August 14th, 1903,in their present home, and departed this life July 8th, 1922, age eighteen years, ten months and twenty-four days. He was taken sick June 20th, with what proved the next day to be a very bad case of appendicitis, and he was tken immediately to the St. Francis hospital in Grinnell, where he underwent an operation. For the first ten days his recovery seemed to be very hopeful, but at the end of this time, a painful disturbance began in the lower back part of his abdomen, and this led to another operation on Thursday morning, and his condition became very serious. For a time he seemed to hold his own but as Friday evening came it became quite evident that he was losing ground rapidly, and all that human hands could do was done to no avail and he gradually grew weaker until 12:45 a.m. Saturday when he entered into his final rest. As soon as arrangements could be made the body was removed to his home four miles east of Brooklyn, awaiting the funeral service which took place from the Church of the Brethren at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, and the body was laid to rest in the Brooklyn cemetery, Rev. J. Schechter officiating, assisted by Elders J.Q. Goughnour of Ankeny, Iowa, and I.W. Brubaker, of Prairie City.

Harold was a wide awake, ambitious youth with high ideals and a large vision, balanced well and held steady by a strong Christian character. He became a Christian and united with the Church of the Brethren about seven years ago and was a member of the 'Volunteers' and has cherished in his heart the hopes of pursuing such a course of preparations as to fit himself for a medical missionary, and be ready to enter that profession in some foreign field. He is also a member of the senior class of 1922 of the Brooklyn high school and is the first one to be called from their group by death. The class was present in a body at the funeral to share in the sorrows of our loss. His immediate relatives surviving him are his parents; one brother, Glenn; two sisters, Mrs. Dr. Siemens,of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Ina Connell, of Brooklyn, and one grandparent, Mrs. Tamar Keysor. These with many distant relatives and friends remain to mourn his going. He is gone but not forgotten. He will ever live in the memory of his friends in whom there has been cast a contribution from his character. The many beautiful flowers and the presence of a vast crowd at the funeral is an index to the esteem in which the departed was held.

The following young men were selected from his companions and acted as pall bearers, Ross Connell, Ray Schechter, Cloyd Lyman, Lester Breniman, Albert Uhl, and Everett Brenenian.