Harold Meyer

Harold H. Meyer, 97, of Sun City, AZ died on Thursday, March 28 at his home with family at his side. Harold Henry Carl Meyer was born on January 26, 1922 to Carl F. and Clara (Rust) Meyer on the family farm one mile east of Hillsboro, North Dakota. One of six children, he attended grades 1 – 8 at the country school just east of Hillsboro. During the Great Depression he delivered milk from Meyer’s Dairy to residents in Hillsboro and worked on the family dairy cattle and grain farm. In 1945 he was drafted into the Army and assigned to Japan. After he finished basic training and before leaving for Japan, he married Ruth Stewart of Hillsboro. At that point, World War II was ending and Harold was re-assigned to the Occupation Forces in Germany, where he trained as a radio operator. He also assisted in the relocation of bombing victims who had lost everything during the war. He was deeply affected by the carnage and as a result was sympathetic to those in need throughout his life. After the service, he studied welding and machine shop skills at the State Normal Industrial School in Ellendale, ND. He returned to Hillsboro to work the family farm until his retirement. Harold was an active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hillsboro for many years. He was especially proud of the work he did on the construction of the current St. John’s Church in the 1970’s. He also took on several maintenance and improvement projects at Immanuel Cemetery in rural Hillsboro. Ruth died in 1978 while Harold was still farming. After retirement Harold began spending time in Arizona where he met and married Leola Johnson in Sun City. The couple split time between Hillsboro and Sun City before settling in Sun City for the last several years. Harold was preceded in death by his parents Carl and Clara, his first wife Ruth, two sisters, Olivia Euren and Delores Pritchett, and a brother William. He is survived by his wife Leola of Sun City, children Karen Meyer of Roseville, MN, Sharon Meyer (Rodney Massey) of Roseville, MN, Kathy (Dave) Cuthbertson of Caledonia, ND, and Keith (Betty) Meyer of Hillsboro; 5 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Barbara (Don) Weng of San Antonio and Margaret (John) Goshinska of Sun City.