Harry (Hap) Gustav Keinath – 92 – Yuma, Arizona
Rejoined our Lord on September 24, 2010 in his home of 27 years
Born July 30, 1918 to a large 4th generation German farm family in Vassar near Frankenmuth, Michigan to Elmer and Bertha Keinath. His mother passed away on his 2nd birthday and so Harry was primarily raised by elder sisters to whom he remained devoted as beloved parental figures. Hap, short for “Happy” soon became his moniker as he seemed so cheerful among 11 siblings.
At age 16, he was obligated to live on a neighboring farm where he worked as a farm hand and sent his meager wages home to help his family. Three days after turning 21 he joined the Army and despite his 8th-grade education was promptly enrolled in officer candidate school (OCS). After a rapid series of promotions he was trained as a reconnaissance pilot and soon trained other young officers. He spent WWII in the South Pacific, first in Hawaii, then on a series of islands and the Philippines where he flew spotting missions for artillery from a small Piper Cub that he assembled himself. By the time of his retirement from military service he held the rank of Lt. Colonel.
After the war he returned to Michigan and met his wife of 63 years, Lillian Welling of Wheeler. They left to honeymoon in San Francisco and set up residence there, where he learned carpentry while they started their family with Pamela and then Harry. After a few years, they built a house in Belmont and lived there until 1979. Hap earned a good living as a general contractor and formed Keinath Construction Co., building homes, commercial properties and in his later years remodeling kitchens and bathrooms by word-of-mouth only. He and Lil enjoyed learning and proudly earned their AA degrees.
Upon retirement, he and Lil moved to Yuma, Arizona and enjoyed a full and busy life with square dancing, shuffle board, championship horseshoes, R-Ving across the country as snowbirds and volunteering at Yuma Regional Medical Center. He studied Spanish among his varied avocations.
Hap is survived by his wife, Lillian; Daughter, Pamela Keinath of Escondido, CA; Son, Harry Keinath (Mary Calhoun) of Shoreline, WA; four granddaughters; Erin (Brian) Stensler; Clarissa (John) Holtz; Kerry Alpen; and, Rachel Keinath. There is one great-granddaughter, Hannah Stensler. He also leaves two sisters, one brother and many nieces, nephews, grand and great, great nieces and nephews and so many, many dear friends.
He was a lifelong member of the Lutheran church, attending a one-room parochial school house speaking mostly German through the 8th grade. There will be a memorial service at 11:00AM on Wednesday, September 29th at Calvary Lutheran Church at 711 S. 7th Avenue, Yuma where Pastor Michael Joynt will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Calvary Lutheran Building Fund and/or Hospice of Yuma.
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteYou've created a wonderful gift with this blog in honor of your grandfather, Hap Keinath. We've know Hap and Lil for 20 years and will always carry with us loving memories of couple very much in love with each other, they're family, friends and life itself. Our girls grew up always knowing when Hap and Lil where in town and have wonderful memories of being with them. Hap and Lil taught us how to play dominoes, Mexican train of course, while up at the cottage one summer. We will never play that game without thinking of him. Hap always greeted us with a big smile, hug and kiss and we always enjoyed being with him. Your father wrote a beautiful rememberance of Hap which added some information I was not aware of and only added to my admiration for Hap. Hap and Lil were/are perfect examples of "The Greatest Generation" written by Tom Brokaw. I will always remember Hap's voice, smile and kindness. My sympathy goes out to the entire Keinath family, especially Lil, who has lost her soal mate. I know he is at peace now and pray that time helps all who knew Hap to recover from his loss. He will be missed by all in our family. Love to the entire Keinath family, Linda Redo