Harold A. Holm (1919-2009)

HOLM, JOHNSON, HUBNER, DISBROWE, STEDING, WATSON, LUDWIG, IHLE, LINCOLN

Posted By: Ames Tribune
Date: 2/24/2009 at 19:26:17

THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

Harold A. Holm, of Story City, died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, at Israel Family Hospice House in Ames. Visitation with the family will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, at St. Petri Lutheran Church. Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at St. Petri Lutheran Church, 804 Grand Ave., in Story City.

Harold A. Holm was born April 22, 1919, in rural McCallsburg, to Edward Oscar and Anna Cecilia (Johnson) Holm. He spent most of his life in Story City. He enlisted in the U.S. Army soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He proudly served under General George Patton in the “Hell on Wheels” battalion until his discharge in March 1944. While stationed overseas in Africa, he learned the family farm had burned down. He lost his father and sister, Junis, in the blaze.

He met and dated Dorothy Hubner before the war. They wrote back and forth steadily during his service time. On Sept. 29, 1945, they were married at her parents’ home in Boone. Over the years, they were blessed with four daughters.

He joined the fire department in 1951 and served as fire chief from 1954 to 1974 and continued serving on the department until August 1976. He was a past president of the Story County Fireman’s Association, and was a volunteer civil defense worker for many years. He was a member of the Bethel Lutheran Church in Story City, the Forty and Eight organization, and a lifetime member of the American Legion, serving as commander for six years.

He served on the Municipal Electric and Utility Board in the 1980s, the Story City Council for four years and was Story City’s mayor for 20 years. He was honored in 1997 by having a new street, Holm Avenue, named after him. He was proud of Story City’s industrial, commercial and residential growth. He always credited the City Council, staff, developmental boards and city employees for much of the accomplishments. As one of the city staff once said, “He was successful in his career as mayor, because he was a bridge to the past and also had a vision of what Story City could be.” He loved doing this.

He was a mechanic by trade and worked for Pete Donhowe at the local Ford garage right after the war. In 1950, he and two friends, Chuck Fuller and Bud Knutson, opened a repair shop, called C.H.&B., in the building which previously housed the Senior Citizens Center on Penn. Following that, he owned a shop in Randall for a few years. In 1959, his business returned to Story City, where he ran the Shell station on the corner of Broad and Garfield until 1966. He gave up the gasoline station, but kept Holm Auto Service until he retired in 2004.

In addition to his civic duties over the years, he enjoyed many fishing trips to Minnesota with friends. He was a great storyteller and shared many memories with his friends and family. He dearly loved his daughters and also had a special place in his heart for his sister, Mildred, whom he lost in 1955 after a 10-year battle with tuberculosis. He made many trips to the hospital in Minnesota during those years to visit her and continued to cherish his close relationship with her children and their families.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Dorothy; four daughters, Linda (Steve) Disbrowe, of Story City, Roxie (Dennis) Steding, of Iowa Falls, Becky (Kevin) Watson, of Story City, and Patty (Mark) Ludwig, of Story City; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; one nephew; and five nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Joel; three sisters, Evelyn Holm, Junis Holm and Mildred Ihle; and two nephews, Eldean Ihle and Roger Lincoln.

Soderstrum Funeral Home in Story City is in charge of arrangements.

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