Harms, Frank Wilhelm (1880-1957)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1957 Jul 25 p. 8

Birth date: 1880 Oct. 13

text of obituary:

FRANK WILHELM HARMS

Frank Wilhelm Harms, our beloved husband and father, was born at Marion, South Dakota, on Oct. 13, 1880, to Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm Harms. He went to this eternal rest Sunday morning, July 14, 1957, at his home at 76 years of age, after an illness of about two years.

In his youth he lived on a South Dakota farm from which he moved with his parents to Garfield County, Oklahoma, in 1902. Since then, with the exception of one year, he had lived on the home farm.

On June 4, 1903, he married Nettie Regier, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernhard B. Regier of the Enid community. God blessed this marriage with eight children, two of whom preceded him in death in infancy.

He was distressed early in1903 when he sensed how great his sin was. At this time the Lord met him in his distress and invited him to accept the forgiveness of sin and the assurance of salvation. Gladly he received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. On May 4 of that same year he gave a public witness of this repentance in baptism. He became a member of the Mennonite Brethren church, North, of Enid, Okla.

He remained active in the work and witness of this church throughout his life. God made further demands of him and to these he responded by a life of willing service in many ways in the church and community. Besides serving as a deacon in the church since 1921, to which he was formally ordained on Easter Sunday, 1929, he was a Sunday School teacher for more than 30 years; was active in the musical ministry with the Gospel Chorus; and was on the Board of Directors for the church Bible school (1921-1938) for almost the entire period of its existence. These, and many other Christian endeavors throughout his life typified his devotion and faithfulness to the work of Christ.

For a number of years he served as a member of the Valley Center District School Board in this community.

In our home he diligently nurtured us in our Christian faith through family devotions and in spiritual counsel. It was his sincere desire that the whole family should be faithful to Christ.

All of his life our beloved husband and father was a strong, active, hard-working man. He became ill rather suddenly and was hospitalized for the first time in his life in June, 1955. This sudden change was very difficult for him and the family, and though he did regain some of his strength a few months later, he was never again able to resume his full duties. Throughout these last two years he spoke of his great desire to go home to be with the Lord. Though we as a family found this a difficult desire to share with him, we wanted the best for him and prayed with him that God's will would be done.

The last week of his life he was at home after having been hospitalized again for nearly three weeks. On Saturday evening he rejoiced in a spiritual victory in which the whole family joined to praise God. Sunday morning at 11:30, without any apparent struggle, the Lord took him from temporary rest into his eternal rest. Health did come to our husband and father, not as we had hoped, but in a better way.

Those who remain, mourning his departure, are his wife, Mrs. Frank Harms of the home near Enid; six daughters, Miss Marie Harms, at home, Mrs. John F. Voth, Enid, Mrs. Peter Quring, Lahoma, Mrs. Emma Voth, Enid, Mrs. Abe H. Janzen, Kremlin, and Mrs. Ben Martens, Fairview; one sister, Mrs. Henry B. Thiessen, Pasadena, Calif.; one half-brother, Jacob A. Goossen, Marion, S.D.; four sons-in-law; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

"Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57). — The family.