HAL HARROLD

HARROLD, HAL Hal Harrold, beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather and Friend, passed away on March 4, 2011. He is now with the love of his life, his adorable wife, Rosemary Harrold, whom he has truly missed since she went to be with the Lord in August 2009. A Celebration of his life with Military Honors will be on April 11, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery with the Pearl Harbor Survivors officiating. Hal was hatched as he liked to say, on September 17, 1918. He also liked to say when he was born they decided to end World War I. Born on a farm in Kearny, Nebraska, he worked in the fields and overhauled machinery from five years old. During the Dustbowl in the '30s, the family moved to Portland, Oregon. One day while walking down the street in 1937, he decided to join the Navy. He was a diesel mechanic, welder, diver, you name it, while in the Navy. He was on the USS Vestal, tied up to the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941 when the Japs attacked at PHTH as he called it, Pearl Harbor Territory of Hawaii. The USS Vestal got underway and made it out of the way of the channel before it was sunk in shallow waters. His orders then became DOW, he was in for the duration of the war. He saw the Philippines and South Pacific during the war and had the best stories to tell. Before the war he had explored all the Hawaiian islands, he could take you on a scenic tour to Hana in four hours or less and laugh at how long it took everybody else to make that simple trip! That is what is called a Harrold vacation. He worked as a heavy equipment mechanic and specialized in diesels. He welded many a cattle truck trailer while he worked for Poggi Trucking. He also worked for Morrow Trucking, La Salle Trucking and retired from Hazard Construction. He was a staunch Ford man and he never hired anyone other than Ford drivers to work in the shop for him. During his entire life, whatever problem he couldn't solve he would take it with him to bed, dream about it in Technicolor, and would have a solution the following day without fail! In his early '60s, he decided to go to college and get his airplane mechanics license. He already had his flying license with an instrument rating. He bought a Piper Cub plane and restored it and flew it two weeks before he turned 80. In his late 80s, he enjoyed keeping his current FAA Inspector's license next to his Legally Blind card, of course he wasn't practicing anymore, but enjoyed sharing the inconsistency. At 89, Hal was accepted to the Blind Center, after passing his interview. The last question was to find out if he was depressed about his macular degeneration, he leaned over to the interviewer and explained that he knew he was in the last Chapter of life and that is how it goes, they accepted him and trained him with his white cane which he called "Tappie". The last nine months he enjoyed living at Sungarden Terrace in the "Grove of the Lemons" on Skyline Dr. The caregivers there made every minute enjoyable for him, he learned quickly to be the Captain of the Bowling Team or anything else they talked him into, then he didn't have to actually bowl! Survived by his son Bryan Harrold (Vicki Harrold), and daughter Barbara Daskoski (Fred Daskoski), two grandchildren, Courtenay Harrold and Catherine Morris, great-grand-daughter Ava Morris and his sister Loretta Borges.