Harold Brinkmeier

Harold Alvin Brinkmeier, 84, of rural Mount Carroll, passed away on November 18, 2008 at Pleasant View Nursing Home in Morrison, Illinois. A Funeral Service will be held 10:30 am, Saturday, November 22, 2008, at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mount Carroll, with a visitation for one hour prior to the service at the church. A Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, Friday, November 21, 2008 at Frank-Law-Jones Funeral Home, Mount Carroll with a Masonic Service being held at 7:00 pm. Burial will take place in Oakhill Cemetery, Mount Carroll with military rites accorded by the Mount Carroll American Legion Post #67. Memorials may be given to the National Parkinson Foundation, 1501 N.W. 9th Ave/Bob Hope Road, Miami, Florida, 33136 or Mercy Medical Center Hospice, 638 S. Bluff Blvd, Clinton, Iowa, 52732 in Harold’s memory.

A loving husband, proud father of three sons, and a grandfather, World War II veteran, farmer, and agricultural extension agent for 30 years, Harold blessed those that knew and loved him with wonderful memories. Harold was born February 22, 1924 on the family farm at Loran, Illinois, the son of Dan and Anna (Bleymeyer) Brinkmeier. He grew up during the Great Depression and cared for his mother and sisters after the death of his father in 1941, and attended schools in Pearl City and Freeport. Harold was confirmed at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pearl City, Illinois, and was a member of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mount Carroll. He served in World War II as a first lieutenant and bombardier on a B-24 Liberator bomber, flying 33 combat missions with the 451st bomb group of the 15th Air Force over heavily defended targets in southern Europe. He earned his Bachelors in agriculture from the University of Illinois in 1949, and worked for the Carroll County Farm Bureau in Mount Carroll as assistant farm advisor, taught vocational agriculture, and helped develop rural youth and 4-H programs. On May 20th, 1950, he married Hazel Dauphin in Savanna, Illinois. From 1950 to 1954 he worked as a field agent for Quality Milk Association, and went on to become Lee County assistant farm advisor at Amboy, Illinois. In 1956 he moved his young family to Lincoln, Illinois to become Logan County farm advisor. In 1967, he received his Masters in extension education, and he and his family returned to Carroll County, where he became county extension advisor, a position held until his retirement in 1983. He also fulfilled his life’s dream by buying a small farm just south of Mount Carroll where he lived and worked with his family until the end of his life. He was especially proud of his herd of Shorthorn cows. After his retirement from the Extension Service, he served two terms on the Carroll County Boards, and was board chairman. He also continued to work as a crop and hail adjustor for Country Companies Insurance. He was active in a large number of local civic organizations, including Rotary, Lions Club, Toastmasters, Moose, VFW, American Legion, the World War II Combat Flyers group, and was a Mason for 50 years.

Harold will be remembered for his sense of humor, his fondness for telling jokes and stories, his generosity, his willingness to converse and share ideas, and his unwavering devotion to his family. He will be dearly missed by Hazel, his wife and constant companion of 58 years; his three sons, Greg (Georgia Hartman) of Portage, Wisconsin; Dan of Mount Carroll; Brian (Linda Johnson) of Mount Carroll; and his four grandchildren, Loran (Brittney) Brinkmeier of Thomson; Christie (Brian) Kapel of Portage, Wisconsin; and Jennifer and Carrie Brinkmeier of Mount Carroll.

He was preceded in death by his father Dan, his stepfather Wayne Althafer, and his mother Anna, as well as his sisters Beatrice and Marian