Harold Pavlis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PykDRJDvm_Q&pp=ygUhdHJpbml0eSBsdXRoZXJhbiBjaHVyY2ggcGxhdHRlIHNk
Harold William Pavlis, 100, of Geddes, SD, passed away suddenly and peacefully, with his daughters by his side, at home in his chair on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.
A Celebration of Harold's Life will be Saturday, October 28 at 11AM with lunch to follow at 12 noon at Trinity Lutheran Church in Platte, SD. Burial of ashes will be in the Pleasant Lawn Cemetery, Geddes, SD at 2:30 PM.
Visitation will be Friday, October 27, 5 - 7 PM with a Time of Sharing at 7 PM, also at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Please feel free to come and share all your "good stories" and memories of Harold.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in memory of Harold to Geddes Pleasant Lawn Cemetery, Geddes Historical Society, or any of your favorite charities.
Mount-Smith Funeral Home will be assisting the family with the arrangements.
Harold William Pavlis, the oldest child of Jaroslav "Jerry" and Rose Belle (Fijala) Pavlis, was born on December 13, 1922, on the farm his grandfather homesteaded in Jackson Township southwest of Geddes, SD. From a very young age, Harold worked hard on the farm, usually barefoot behind a horse. He grew up on that farm among his Czech relatives and walked, or rode a horse, to Jackson #9 Country School where he learned to speak English. He recalls at age 8, his mother waving a white towel, warning of a dust storm coming. He jumped off the planter and ran in front of the horses at a gallop all the way home. During high school he boarded in family homes in town. In study hall he saw Iona Nelson, and decided in that moment she was the one for him.
Times were hard on the farm in the 20's and 30's, and Harold couldn't wait to strike out on his own - AWAY from the farm. WNAX radio advertised a course on diesel mechanics, so after graduating high school in 1940, Harold and his cousin Bill took the train to Kansas City. After completing the course, he landed a job as a Western Union messenger. Harold made payments on a bicycle he used to deliver those telegrams and knew the streets of the city like the back of his hand. He said of that time, "You know you are broke when you don't even have a penny to buy a 'penny postcard' to write home to ask for money."
His next adventure in 1941 took him on a bus to Detroit, MI to build airplanes for World War II. For medical reasons, he was not drafted into the War. He never forgot Iona, and after courting through letters, they married in 1943 in Geddes.
Back on the farm, Harold and Iona started with nothing. Their wedding gift was a cow and a pig. They struggled as most young couples do, but 1940's farm version, with no electricity and no running water. They raised baby pigs upstairs in the house, chickens in the porch and sometimes slept outside with the turkeys to keep them from being stolen. In 1946 they rented their present farm north of Geddes, which they eventually purchased. He had multiple employees, but over 27 years, Dennis Leistra was instrumental in helping him build the farm that exists today.
Harold was an innovative thinker. He helped bring infrastructure technology to this region – electricity, phones, rural water, etc. He served on multiple boards including ASCS, Security State Bank, Geddes Double Circle Co-op and Township Board. Locally he watched the building of the Ft. Randall Dam, the Platte Winner Bridge, and the arrival of rural water. The global changes he witnessed were staggering, from working with horses to going beyond the moon.
Even through all the work, Harold and Iona enjoyed themselves, before and after retirement in 1988. Their adventures took them from square dancing in Hawaii to riding the "Blimp" in California. In his late 70's he rode "The Desperado", the world's tallest roller coaster. They traveled on a budget by sleeping in the trunk of the car, and eventually all over the country in their motorhome. He loved to garden and give all the produce away.
Though Harold liked to reminisce, to his dying day he was always thinking ahead. As his granddaughter said, "What a long life, and he knew us all at his last breath."
Grateful to have shared Harold's life are his daughters Jean Sybesma and Vicky Pavlis; grandchildren: Julie (Brian) Boehmke, Webster, MN, Denise (David) Ehlers, Newcastle, WY, Gloria Horvath, Dolton, SD, Lori (Glen) Dewald, Delmont, SD, Curtis (Tiffany) Sybesma, Geddes, SD, Valerie (Gabe) Strand, Platte, SD, and Cindy (Doug) Lucas, Academy, SD; great-grandchildren: Rachel (fiance Brody Swanson) Boehmke, Katie Travaille, Dillon (Kiana) Ehlers, Rachel (fiance Lucas Jacobson) Ehlers, Austin Horvath, Ashley (Blake) Bultsma, Aaron Horvath, Emily Dewald, Leah Dewald, Cameron Sybesma, Dillon Lucas, and Jersey Lucas; and his great-great grandchild: Lennox Marie Ehlers.
Harold was preceded in death by his parents Jerry (1981) and Rose (1964) Pavlis, step-mother Mildred (Ellison) Pavlis (1991), wife Iona (Nelson) Pavlis (2015), son Lyle (2001) and wife Judy (2009), daughter Cheryl (2006) and husband Bob Jaeger (2012), son-in-law Dale Sybesma (2004), great grandson Andrew Sybesma (2016), sister Beatrice (2016) and husband Victor (2014) Mushitz, brother Duane (Sonny) Pavlis (2022), in-laws Leo (2015) and wife Marjorie (1974) and second wife Ladene (2023) Nelson, in-laws Selmer (1993) and wife Nadine (1988) Nelson, and in-laws Darleen (1981) and Russell (1978) Nelson.