Harold Martin Harder

Harold Martin Harder of Tipton, Iowa went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, at the age of 93 on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. Visitation will be held at Fry Funeral Home, Tipton, on Sunday, February 28th from 4:00-6:00pm. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, February 29th, at 11:00 am, also at Fry Funeral Home. A memorial fund in Harold's honor has been established. Online condolences may be shared at www.fryfuneralhome.com. Always a loving husband and father, his love was genuinely experienced by each one in the family. He was married to Irene Van Rheenen for sixty six years and with her shared the Lord with others continually. Harold was born and raised on a farm near Paxton, Nebraska. He served in the United States Army in World War II (Battle of the Bulge) as an interpreter and an Assistant Chaplin, attended Pacific Bible Institute in Fresno, California, graduated with a BA from the University of Nebraska in Kearney, Nebraska and a MA from Loras College, Dubuque Iowa. He was an ordained minister that farmed, taught High School, a Junior High Multi-Media Director in the Dubuque, Iowa School System and High School Librarian at Kingsley-Pierson High in Kingsley, Iowa. He started several churches in Nebraska and Wyoming in his early years of ministry. Harold was a member of Cedar Street Baptist Church and often fellowshipped at the Tipton Bible Church. He held services at the local nursing homes in Tipton for 16 years. He had a passion for preaching. Retiring at the age of 63, he developed Real Estate in later years. He is survived by all of his children: Dwight Harder (Connie) of Chandler, Arizona; Frank Harder (Ruth) of Pleasant Hill, Iowa; Daniel Harder (Alice) of Nashville, Tennessee; Jewell Wilkinson (John) of rural Solon, Iowa; Merlin Lee Harder of Hillsboro, Iowa; 22 Grandchildren and 30 Great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Irene in 2010.