Harris, Raymond W. 1903-1981

HARRIS, SCHMIDT, ANTISDEL, THIEL, SWANEY, TICE, SEARS

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 3/5/2012 at 10:43:15

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; Jan. 19, 1981

HOLD RITES FOR HARRIS, EX-SUPERVISOR

Raymond W. Harris died Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 14, at his home of a heart condition. He was 78, and was a former member of the county board of supervisors.

Funeral services for Raymond Harris were held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell, with the Revs. Peter and Allyson Sawtell, co-pastors of the Chester Congregational-United Church of Christ.

Organist was Mrs. Kathleen Heffner.

Pallbearers were Dale Harris, Denny Harris, Henry H. Harris, Thomas Harris, Walter Harris and Thomas Sears. Flower bearers were Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Dare and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sears.

Interment was in the Chester Cemetery.

Born Jan. 6, 1903, in Chester Township north of Grinnell, he was the son of Thomas and Carolena Schmidt Harris. He attended rural schools near the family farm and later graduated from Grinnell High School with the class of '21. He received his B.S. in agriculture from Iowa State University in 1929, and was employed by the USDA.

He married Leona F. Antisdel on Nov. 30, 1930, in Ames. The couple had made their home on the present farm for the past 50 years.

Active in community affairs, he was a member of the senior group of the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce, the Ruritan Club, the Rotary Club, the Isaak Walton League, the Farm Bureau, the Sonora and state Granges, and the 4-H Club.

He was a member of the board of directors of the Poweshiek Jasper Farm Service Co. for over 20 years and served two terms on the County Board of Supervisors of Poweshiek County, 1968 through 1976.

He was baptized at St. John's Lutheran Church in Tama and later became a member of the Sonora Methodist Church. At the closing of the Sonora Church, he became a member of the Chester Congregational United Church of Christ, and was active in many of the church affairs and lay activities.

He is survived by his wife, Leona, at the family farm; his two daughters, Mrs. Joy Thiel and Mrs. Carol Swaney, both of Reinbeck, Iowa; his sister, Mrs.Lillie Tice of Grinnell; and his brothers, Harvey Harris of rural Grinnell, Merle Harris of rural Gilman and Glenn Harris of rural Grinnell.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his two sons, Clark William and John Edgar, in infancy; and a brother, Frank Harris; and a sister, Mrs. Esther Sears.