Hiram Edward House

PITTSFIELD, Ill. -- Hiram Edward House, 100, of Pittsfield, died Thursday (Nov. 14, 2013), at Liberty Village Nursing Home in Pittsfield.

Mr. House was born Nov. 7, 1913, in Irving in Montgomery County. He was the son of William and Celia Hilt House. In 1946, he married Melvina Mayer of Witt. She died March 1, 2008. They had no children.

Mr. House completed Witt High School and then graduated from Eastern Illinois University and Brown's Business College. Subsequently he taught at Sunnyside rural school for four years before he was employed by the Carlinville Production Credit Association, and later the Mississippi Valley Production Credit Association, which served Pike, Adams, Brown, and Calhoun counties. He eventually became president of the association and retired in 1978 after 40 years of service in Farm Credit.

Mr. House served more than three years in the U.S. Army during World War II, all in the Southwest Pacific. He attained the rank of master sergeant. After arriving in Brisbane, Australia, he was assigned to the Army's General Headquarters there, where he served on the personal staff of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the Southwest Pacific Theatre.

As the war progressed, Mr. House moved with General Headquarters to New Guinea and to Tycloban, Leyte, Philippines, where Gen. MacArthur made his famous "I have returned" entry into the Philippines. The next move was to Yokohama, Japan, where the Japanese signed the surrender terms on the battleship Missouri. From Japan, Mr. House returned to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis for his discharge. Mr. House earned the Bronze Star, the Distinguished Unit Badge, and the Good Conduct Medal.

Mr. House was a member of the Methodist Church, the American Legion, the Farm Bureau, and the Pittsfield Rotary Club, of which he was a member for 67 years. In Rotary, he served as club president and earned distinction as a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. Besides the church and Rotary, Mr. House was a generous financial supporter of many civic projects in the community.

Mr. House was preceded in death by three sisters, Mrs. Opal Cattinari, Mrs. Faye Bateman, and Mrs. Maxine Rowley.

He is survived by nieces and nephews.

SERVICES: 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Airsman-Hires Funeral Home in Pittsfield with burial at Pittsfield West Cemetery.

VISITATION: One hour prior to the services in the funeral home.

MEMORIALS: Pittsfield United Methodist Church, Illini Community Hospital or Pittsfield Community Center.