Harold William August Schnell 1925-2018

SCHNELL, WILLARD, FRETTY, JOHNSON, TIDEMANN, MUSTOE, MORIT, GAINES, LANNING

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 4/3/2018 at 11:37:58

Harold William August Schnell was born to August and Mildred [nee Willard] Schnell on a farm just northeast of Terril, Iowa, on October 12, 1925. His parents later bought a farm less than a half mile from the house where he was born. When his parents moved to town into the house he helped his dad build, Harold moved his family to the farm. Harold passed away on March 29th at his home in Terril at the age of 92.

When Harold was 10, his parents bought him a horse, Old King. He spent many hours riding that horse for fun and to help around the farm. Harold was musical, teaching himself how to play the guitar, harmonica, and even a few hymns on the piano. Harold attended school in Terril and was graduated from high school in 1943. He was drafted to serve in the Army during World War II; and entered active service in October of 1944. He served stateside and later overseas. Service to his country meant a lot to Harold. He was a member of the Terril American Legion and served as Commander for several years. It was important to Harold to help prepare for Memorial Day services for Terril, so the cemetery was decorated for the military tributes.

While at a group gathering for his church youth group he met his future wife, Pearl Martha Fretty. On September 22, 1946, shortly after he was honorably discharged from the Army, he and Pearl were married and made their home in Terril. In late summer of 1947, he joined the Terril Fire Department after a fire at his home. Harold continued to serve on the Terril Fire Department for over 60 years. A highlight for Harold in support of the department was to help at the sweet corn roast fund raiser each year.

Harold was dedicated to his church and outreach into the community. He was baptized and a lifelong member of Terril Immanuel Lutheran. He was active in his church taking a shift at the Lutheran Laymens’ League booth at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, faithfully visiting the sick in the hospitals and the elderly in nursing homes, passing out sacks of candy and fruit to the Sunday School children after the Christmas Eve programs, teaching adult Bible study classes. He also hosted a workshop for parishioners to come together to make a life-sized wooden nativity scene for the church.

Harold began working for Hattendorf Construction Company in 1948 building the Terril Immanuel Lutheran Church which was the first of many churches he helped build in Iowa (Sibley, Spencer, Geneva) and Minnesota (Keister). While in Sibley, Harold took flying lessons and trained in a yellow Model J3 Piper Cub and obtained his pilot’s license. He gave flight lessons in his younger years, as a source of extra income for his growing family. Harold enjoyed talking aviation with other flying farmers and friends in the area. He was honored with a 50-year pilot award at the Iowa State Fair. Harold also had the honor of being one of the Iowans of the Week at the State Fair; as well as by his community when he was selected King for the Terril Centennial Celebration.

By 1954, Harold and Pearl had three girls and a set of twin boys. It was much more difficult to move the family temporarily from site to site, so he left church construction and helped his parents build the house in town. The next few years he did carpentry and masonry jobs in Terril. He then started his own construction business and built houses in the area and put in several basements in Terril. He was one of the volunteers who laid the concrete for the streets of Terril. He began to specialize in plumbing and heating which he was working at full time until he was close to ninety years old. He had also taken on the job of digging graves for the Terril Fairview Cemetery. He has laid to rest many of his friends, classmates, and members of his own family. It was meaningful to him, as part of his service to others, to be able to carefully lay their bodies in their final resting place.
Harold dedicated his life to God, his family, his country, and his community.

He is survived by his children Gloria [Tyrone] Jahrmann Johnson, Mark [Sarah] Schnell, Rachel [Scott] Tidemann, Rebekah [Dan] Schnell, Amber [John] Mustoe, fourteen grandchildren, twenty-four great-grandchildren, sister Arlene Moritz, and several nephews and nieces.

Harold was preceded in death by his wife Pearl, son Matthew, daughter Sherrill Schnell Gaines; grandchildren, Anneke, Adam, Mary Ann, and Zaiid; and great-grandchild Maximus, and sister Helen Lanning and brothers-in-law Verne Lanning and Louis Moritz.