|
 Willard
O. Havemeier of Lancaster departed this life on Tuesday, March 17,
2009. Bill was born on April 21,1920, in Courtland, Minnesota to
Representative William and Elsie Radke Havemeier. He would be the
third generation of his family to serve in the United States Army.
After high school he entered the service, and in 1942, during
World War II, he was shipped to Algiers at the height of the North
African Campaign. He was assigned to the 32nd Station
Hospital, in Oran, Algeria. His unit was eventually moved to
Caserta, Italy, near Naples, where he spent the remainder of the
war. Bill called his wartime service the greatest experience of
his life, and kept in touch with members of his unit until
recently. He wrote a history of the 32nd Station
Hospital and his early farming days in Minnesota. It is online at
havemeier.com
In 1945 Bill
determined that he would not return to the family farm. He
graduated with a BS in Economics from Temple University in 1949.
He enlisted in the Army Reserves, where he served with the 79th
Army Reserve Command until 1980. In 1949 he went to work in the
claims division of Trans America Life Insurance Company. When he
took early retirement his title was Vice President, Claims.
In 1955 he
married Seonaid Grant, who died in 1993. They bought a farm in
Safe Harbor, where he lived until 1995. After retirement he
entered Millersville University where he studied Computer Science.
He then took a job at Millersville where he worked for 28 years.
He retired in 2004. Bill was devoted to Millersville and its
students. He established the Willard O. and Dr. Catherine Gibson
Havemeier Scholarships in Computer Science and in Football. He was
also a strong supporter of animal charities. He belonged to the
Lancaster Chapter of the Retired Officers Association, and the
First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster.
In 1995 Bill
married Catherine Gibson Havemeier, who survives. They spent his
later years traveling in Europe and North Africa. He was
especially drawn to return to Caserta, where the deserted hospital
complex still stands. He is also survived by his brothers Willis,
of Minnesota, Kenneth of Florida, and his sister, Jeanette Wolner,
of Minnesota. He is missed by his dogs, Lucia and Pepper.
A Funeral
Service will be held Saturday, March 21, 2009 at the Charles F.
Snyder Funeral Home and Chapel 3110 Lititz Pike, Lititz at 12 p.m.
Family and Friends will be received before the service from 11
a.m.-12 p.m. at the funeral home. Interment will be Monday, March
23, 2009 at Ft. Indiantown Gap National Cemetery at 12:30 p.m.
In lieu of
flowers please send donations to ORCA, the Organization for
Responsible Care of Animals, 610 North Lime Street, Lancaster, PA
17602. To send an online condolence please visit
snyderfuneralhome.com |
