Harry C. Gillard, 97, Glenwood
Harry Carl Gillard, age 97, of Glenwood, died at Tabor Manor in Tabor on April 19, 2009. Funeral services were held at Hertz Funeral Home in Glenwood, Friday, April 24, 2009. Pastor Steve Frazee of the First Baptist Church in Glenwood officiated. Military honors were provided by Glenwood American Legion Harvey T. Rimel Post 141. Interment was in the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Brownville, Neb.
One of 10 children of John and Mary Anna (Weininger) Gillard, he was born near Butler, Okla., on Sept. 18, 1911. When he was six years old, the family moved by train to a farm near Brownville, Neb. After high school, he stayed at home to help his parents with the farm until the advent of World War II. Harry enlisted in the United States Army and served in the Medical Corps as an ambulance driver in the European conflict. Following the war, Mr. Gillard moved to a farm near Percival with his sister and two brothers. In 1952, they moved to a farm north of Glenwood. He worked maintenance for 30 years at the Yankee Hill Brick Company in Omaha, while all the time working on the farm in the evenings and weekends. He remained on the farm until 2007, when he moved to Tabor Manor. There he shared a room with his oldest brother, Archie, who had turned 100 years old. His nieces and nephew remember him as one of the kindest and gentlest of souls. He loved crossword puzzles, Longfellow poems and never missed an evening without reading and studying the Bible. For over 40 years, Mr. Gillard enjoyed the activities in the Glenwood area where he was a member of the First Baptist Church and Harvey T. Rimel Post 141 of the American Legion.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Lois Gillard, Mary Gillard and Ruth Gillard; brothers, Lowell Gillard, George Gillard, Marion Gillard, John Gillard and Ben Gillard. He is survived by his oldest brother, Archie of the Tabor Manor; nieces, Nancy Gillard of Pullman, Wash., Connie Gillard of Commerce City, Colo.; Kimberly Hast of Council Bluffs; and nephew Rodney Gillard of Commerce City. Memorials are suggested to Hospice with Heart.