Jack W.

Harnsberger

Jack Harnsberger, age 90, passed away peacefully in his sleep on August 7, 2023 in his home on the Harnsberger family farm North of Lindsay, Oklahoma. He was born on the same farm on November 9, 1932 to John Elmer and Bertha Ruby Harnsberger. Jack was the sixth of seven children born to John and Bertha and he was the last of the family to pass away.

Jack was born during the Great Depression and money was hard to come by, but the family always had plenty of food, thanks to their hard work on the farm. Jack had his chores to do. His first job as a youngster, along with his younger brother Jim, was to bring the turkeys back to their pen every evening. There was also plenty of fun to be had for young boys on the farm. Jack, Jim, Cousin Jack Smith and their neighbors, the Lawson boys, enjoyed hunting, fishing and swimming in the creek that flowed through the farm. It was in a rock pool in the creek on the family farm where Jack, Jim and the boys were baptized.

Jack attended Liberty Hill rural school through the 8th grade, then Lindsay schools, where he played the coronet in the high school band. He graduated in 1950 and found work in the local bakery. During this same time the Korean War began and soon after Jack turned 18 years old he joined the United States Marine Corps determined to serve his country. He spent a year on the front lines in Korea, participating in night patrols and skirmishes and enduring below zero temperatures before returning stateside and to Oklahoma in 1954. Jack soon began a career in the lumber and building materials industry. He managed lumber yards in Lindsay, Blanchard and Oklahoma City before being hired by Georgia Pacific where he stayed for 30 years, retiring in 1996. While working in Blanchard, Jack met Anna Rose Soward, and the couple were soon married in the First Baptist Church of Blanchard. Jack was a member of the American Legion, the Lions Club and the First Baptist Church of Blanchard.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents, John and Bertha Harnsberger, four sisters; Vivian Morgan, Ethel Harris, Faye Phillips, Johnie Cook and two brothers; Warren Harnsberger and Jim Harnsberger. He is survived by a son from a previous marriage; Jim Harnsberger of La Mesa, California, granddaughter Rachel Brown and great grandsons Teran Brown and Tucker Brown, as well as a son with Anna Rose; Randy Harnsberger and wife Jerene of Lindsay, two granddaughters; Courtney Harnsberger of Norman, Melissa Hunter and husband Donovan of Grove, and two great grandchildren; Samuel and Addison Hunter and many other relatives and friends.

Jack enjoyed many wonderful years in retirement, hunting, fishing and working on the family farm but his greatest happiness came from time spent with family and friends. He was a wonderful, loving and devoted father and grandfather and he will be greatly missed.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 A.M., Friday, August 11, 2023, at Blanchard First Baptist Church. Interment will follow in the Green Hill Cemetery in Lindsay, OK. Arrangements are under the direction of Eisenhour Funeral Home of Blanchard. Online obituary and guestbook are available at www.eisenhourfh.com.