Harman, Lester Elroy 1943-2018

HARMAN, VANROEKEL, SMIT

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:34

Mr. Lester Harman, age 74, of Hull, passed away on Friday, March 23, 2018, at the Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

There will be a funeral service on Thursday, March 29, at 10:30am, at the First Reformed Church in Hull. The Rev. Kevin Yurk and the Rev. Harlan De Jong will officiate. Interment will follow the service at the Hope Cemetery in Hull. Visitation will be after 5:00pm on Wednesday, with the family present from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the church.

Arrangements are with the Oolman Funeral Home in Hull.

Lester Elroy, the son of Howard Wesley and Wilhelmina (Van Roekel) Harman, was born on September 7, 1943, at his parent’s home south of Boyden. He was raised on his family’s farm and attended the Capel Country School and Boyden High School. He graduated from the Boyden-Hull High School in 1960.

He was united in marriage to Rosemary Jane Smit on October 23, 1964, at the American Reformed Church in Hull. They first lived on the Harman family farm near Boyden, and Lester worked for the Boyden Elevator and for Demco Manufacturing in Boyden. In 1969, they settled on the Smit family farm northwest of Hull, where he and Rosemary farmed and raised their three children. In the fall of 2012, they moved to a house in Hull, and in May of 2017, Lester became a resident of the Pleasant Acres Care Center in Hull.

In earlier years, Lester was involved in the Capel Propellors 4H Club, played baseball for the Boyden Bombers, played fastpitch softball for the Iowa State Bank in Hull, and was a leader of the Lincoln Loggers 4H Club. He was an active bowler, playing for several area teams, and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He also collected miniature semi tractor-trailers and state fair belt buckles. As a proud father and grandfather, he enjoyed attending the activities of his children and grandchildren, including sporting and music events, as well as their animal exhibits at the county and state fairs.

Mr. Harman was a former member of the United Presbyterian Church in Boyden and was currently a member of the First Reformed Church in Hull, where he had served on the consistory.

He is survived by his wife of more than 53 years; three children and their spouses, Michael and Rebecca Harman of Hull, Steven and Jessica Harman of Rock Rapids, and Stacey and Dennis Schmidt of Brandon, South Dakota; seven grandchildren, Katlyn, Dylan, and Jackson Harman; Avery and Caelen Harman; and Lane and Jonathan Schmidt; a sister, Arlene De Jong of Orange City; and several nephews and nieces.

In addition to his parents and his wife’s parents, Douwie and Catharine Smit, he was preceded in death by a brother-in-law, Raymond De Jong.

Memorials may be directed to the family for establishing a 4H scholarship.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.