Harry Van Soolen

Harry van Soolen was born April 24, 1940 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands to
Hendrikus Marcel Johannes van Soolen and Johanna Hendrika de Ligt.
Three weeks later, while introducing relatives to her first-born son on the
outskirts of the city, Johanna watched as the Luftwaffe carried out the infamous
Rotterdam Blitzkrieg by raining bombs from the sky. Much of the city was destroyed.
In this, Harry began life under military occupation during the most destructive
and cruel war the world has ever known. Even under the duress and stress of
occupation, Harry developed his curious and creative mind.
At the end of World War II, Harry's parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in Rotterdam. The van Soolen family, then with four children,
was offered a lottery to seek residency in the United States. Two years later,
they won the lottery, boarded a steamship across the Atlantic to America,
and took a chartered bus into Salt Lake City, arriving just before Christmas 1950.
He attended West High School in Salt Lake City. After high school,
Harry joined the United Sates Army and the 101st Airborne, where he was a
paratrooper and weapons specialist. From his experience in the military,
Harry learned the importance of education. He then graduated in
Mechanical Drafting from the Technical Engineering Institute in Salt Lake City.
He would spend the rest of his life - in one capacity or another, professionally or
personally, with a pencil or a pen-and-napkin or a computer - drafting and
esigning everything from top secret military equipment, large power systems,
HVAC, and house plans, to widgets, knickknacks and whirligigs. Harry also
had the skills to physically conjure almost any design he could dream up on
paper. Upon constructing an 8-foot x 8-foot quad drone, he said, "I wonder what
I could do if I had a real budget."
Harry further studied at Utah Technical College, Northrup University - where
he earned the Aircraft Mechanics License, Airframe and Powerplant – and
earned BS degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Art, each from
Westminster College. While studying art under Don Doxey, Harry's excellent
portraiture skills earned him a spot in the MFA program at the University of Utah
under portrait artist Alvin Gittins. Deciding not to pursue painting, he said,
"Painting is a lonely existence." Harry preferred to collaborate with others on
highly technical projects.
Harry would get involved in electric vehicles, becoming the president of the
Utah Electric Vehicle Association, violin making, bike building, building Electrathon
cars with local high schools, filmmaking, chess, philosophy, woodworking, rocket science
electronics, robotics, knife making, leather working, bike racing, flying and soaring,
quadcopters and model planes, gardening, computer programming, sailing, prospecting,
and a bunch of other stuff. Harry's life, interests and personality cannot be confined to a
sheet or two of paper. Harry was a true polymath, a man of deep intelligence and broad talent.
Harry married the love of his life, Gloria Lee Morrison, on September 19, 1969.
Together they traveled throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. They were
married for fifty-three years, when Harry's heart was broken at the time of Gloria's passing.
Their marriage was blessed with the addition of their son, Benjamin Lee van Soolen.
Together, their small family could be found engrossed in one of their many passion projects.
Gloria said of the family, they believed that together they could accomplish the impossible,
"the impossible just takes a little longer."
Harry passed away peacefully at home December 30, 2024, after a year-long battle with cancer.
Harry is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Gloria; and his brother Eduard.
Harry is survived by his son Benjamin, brothers Rudy, Robert, and Jerry, and many
nieces and nephews.
Services will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 12 Noon at the Pavant Ward chapel,
5000 West Pavant Ave (3725 So), West Valley City, Utah. A viewing will be held from 10:30 – 11:30 prior
services. Interment will follow with Full Military Honors in the Memorial Estates
Mountain View Cemetery, 3115 East Bengal Blvd (7800 So). Cottonwood Heights, Utah.
Online condolences and memories can be shared at www.daltonhoopes.com.
Virtual streaming on Youtube Harry van Soolen Funeral