Harlan H. "Hank" Giese 1918 - 2017

GIESE, HARLAN, WATSON, ANDERSON

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/19/2017 at 04:48:10

Sioux City Journal
23 May 2017

Harlan H. "Hank" Giese, 98, of Sioux City, passed from this life Thursday, May 18, 2017, at Sunrise Care Facility.

At his request, there will be cremation. Masonic and Eastern Star memorial services will be 7 p.m. Thursday at the Scottish Rite Temple, Seventh and Douglas Streets in Sioux City. Visitation with the family will be 6 to 7 p.m. Friends are invited to both events. Arrangements are under the direction of Nelson-Berger Northside Chapel.

Hank was born on July 4, 1918, in Lebo, Kan., to Henry and Mary Frances (Harlan) Giese. He grew up in Cottonwood Falls, Kan., where his father was employed as superintendent of utilities.

Hank attended Emporia State College and Kansas State University, where he studied electronic and civil engineering. In 1940, he moved to California, where he worked as a civil engineer with the U.S. Navy at Mare Island Shipyards in Vallejo, and later with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation during the construction of the Shasta Dam across the Sacramento River in Northern California. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Hank enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he was assigned to the 343rd Engineers Regiment. He shipped overseas in June 1942 and spent 38 months serving in England, North Africa, Sicily, France and Germany. His unit rebuilt structures destroyed by the Germans.

During the Battle of the Bulge, the 343rd Regiment built a bridge over the Rhine River working 24 hours a day to complete it in nine days. Hank received the Bronze Star for his supervisory work on this bridge, which carried more than 30,000 tons of equipment to that final battle. Four weeks later, the war ended and the bridge was blown up to allow river traffic to resume.

After World War II, Hank returned to California, where he met and married Margaret Watson, with whom he had three children, Harlan Jr., Mary and William "Bill." The family moved to Sioux City in 1955, at which time Hank was employed by the U.S. Air Force at the Sioux City Air Base and later in North Dakota, where he was chief engineer at the Grand Forks Air Base. Returning with his family to Sioux City in 1967, Hank was employed by Brower Construction Company. When he left Brower, he became the project engineer at Terra Chemical Company for the Terra Building, now called the Ho-Chunk Building. He also worked for James Duffy Architects and was involved in the construction of the Sioux City Art Center. He retired in 1995.

Hank's wife, Margaret, passed away in 1988.

Following Margaret's death, Hank began to play the piano and joined a group of senior piano players who entertained at senior centers, the mall and wherever they could find an audience. Their electronic keyboard pianos were trucked from place to place as needed. He kept his small electronic piano and continued to play for his own enjoyment when the group dissolved.

He married Ruth Anderson in 1992 and through this marriage acquired three step-grandchildren, who became very close over the years. Ruth passed away in 2011.

Hank was a 60-year member of the Masonic Fraternity and was active in Morningside Lodge 615 and Triangle Lodge 643 until very recently. He was a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies and was honored by conferral of the 33rd Degree in 2003. In the last few years of his life, he enjoyed playing cribbage with his lodge brothers every Wednesday afternoon.

Hank was an avid golfer and had several trophies to showcase his expertise. He was beloved by his family and friends, who loved to hear the stories of his life and of his Army experiences. He was the last surviving member of his Army regiment, maintaining contact with those friends by mail and telephone over the years.

Survivors include his three children, Harlan Jr. of Bettendorf, Iowa, Mary of Winchester, Va., and Bill and wife Bonnie of Strasburg, Va.; one granddaughter, Sarah, of Strasburg; step-grandchildren, Dr. Neil Wickham and wife, Lori, and children, Brianna and Zachary, Anita (Brian) Newhouse and children, Henry, Ellie and Willem, and Beth (Steve) Negri and son, Andrew; friend and companion, Betty Jean Johnson; and many friends and lodge brothers.