Henry H. Harris, 87, of Grinnell, died on October 12, 2022, at his home of natural causes.

Funeral services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 19, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Rev. Jim Dotson officiating. Pallbearers are Justin and Corey Arment, Amber Lewis, Holli Robbins, Nick Rutherford, Brett and Blake Morrison, Gregory Foshee, and Emalee Harris. Burial will follow at 1:00 p.m. in Chester Cemetery, north of Grinnell.

Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, at the Smith Funeral Home with the Harris family present from 5:00 to 7:00 Tuesday evening.

Memorial contributions may be designated to Chester Cemetery or the Newburg-Chester Church.

Following the funeral service friends are invited for lunch and continued fellowship at the Grinnell Eagles Club.

Henry was born July 23, 1935 to Harvey Thomas and Margaret Alice Peak Harris in Grinnell. He was raised in Chester township and graduated from Grinnell High school with the class of 1953.

He was a member of the Newburg-Chester Church and a member of the Sonora Grange.

On September 22, 1957, he was united in marriage with Shirley VanderLeest, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. A union of 60 years! The couple farmed in Chester Township, north of Grinnell, where they raised their family.

Henry had lived in the same house since he was 12 years old. Being on the farm and farming were his passion. He raised cattle all his life. After he quit farming the land, he continued to bale hay for many farmers and continued to raise cattle until finally fully retiring in 2014 at the age of 78. He taught his children and grandchildren the meaning of work ethic. He also worked many auctions with McIlrath Auctioneering and owned and operated the Grinnell Sale barn for a short time. He served as Chester township trustee for many years and spent many years helping take care of Chester Cemetery.

Besides tinkering around on the farm, he loved following the Grinnell Tigers. Especially when his grandchildren were involved. He also followed the Grinnell Pioneer football and basketball teams. He loved watching sports on TV. Football being his favorite. He followed the Hawkeyes and Cyclones and any NFL game that was on, he was watching.

His daily coffee with the guys and breakfast at Frontier were an important part of his life. He also loved going to Meskwaki Casino. He also enjoyed his monthly dinners at Meskwaki with Shirley's sister Birdie and her family. He loved having family get togethers with all the kids and grandkids and just sat and took it all in with a smile on his face.

He is survived by his four children, Debra (Jim Cunningham) Arment, Vickie (Mark) Rutherford, Kim (Tom) Patten, and Mike (Misty) Harris, all of Grinnell; ten grandchildren, Justin (Shannon) Arment of Brooklyn, Corey (LaRae) Arment of Toddville, Iowa, Amber (Brian) Lewis of Grinnell, Holli (Brett) Robbins of Waterloo, Nick (Josie) Rutherford, Brett and Blake Morrison of Grinnell, Emily Patten of Wabasha, Minnesota, and Gregory Foshee and Emalee Harris of Grinnell; ten great-grandchildren and his first great-great grandchild on the way; one sister Barbara (Bill) Yungclas of Ames, and sister-in-law Betty Harris of Grinnell. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Shirley Harris and brother Tom Harris.