Harold Mark Grabemeyer

January 25th, 1952 - August 22nd, 2019

Harold's Memory Wall

We encourage you to share your most beloved memories of Harold here, so that the family and other loved ones can always see it. Share your favorite stories or comment on those shared by others.

I am so sorry to hear about this...I am a professor at Ferris State University and was honored to serve as his graduate academic advisor and have Harold in my graduate classes which were taught at our various extension site in Michigan. He earned his Master of Science degree in Career & Technical Education (MSCTE) with an emphasis in Educational Technology in 2003 with a GPA of 3.97 out of 4.0. In fact, in 2003, he was honored to be named the MSCTE Outstanding Student of the Year--a significant honor and well-deserved. His dedication to his profession, his tenacity, professionalism, insight, and even humor when completing assignments and writing papers that required significantly more time to complete than most students, as well as his passion for life, his family and friends was incredible. I appreciated meeting and knowing Diane during these class trips. Harold was an inspiration to ALL of us! To his family and friends, my sincere condolences.

Katherine Manley

August 31st, 2019 at 1:25pm

I met and became friends with Harold the day we moved into the MSU dorm for our freshman year. We came from completely different backgrounds, and yet we were comfortable with each other, and every day since. My wife and I moved to Texas in pursuit of jobs, but we often visited on trips back to Michigan. Our kids played together, in Dowagiac and Dallas. I sent him tapes, and later SD cards, of music I thought he might like: TFD, tunes from Dirk. We communicated by e-mail in random bursts. I have maintained, over the years, that the greatest compliment you can give someone is to say they are kind. Harold was kind. Just by being Harold, he could teach you how to be a good man. I loved him. I will miss him. With sincerest condolences to Diane, Erin and Molly; from Dirk, Eve, Matthew and Emily.

Dirk Anderson

August 30th, 2019 at 5:25pm

Harold at MSU was a force of nature - energy and curiosity that enveloped his friends and made us strive to be better informed and better citizens of the world. His humor was infectious, often raucous, and I adored this man from the minute I met him. His view of life was always just a few degrees left of center; a view that made you think and question and challenge your own views. His musical taste was flawless, and his sensitivity and compassion understated, yet readily accessible to those in his orbit. When Harold married Diane it was as if the universe suddenly aligned and all was right with the world. My deepest condolences to the family, Diane, and the children. Harold was an honorable man with a warm heart and ready smile. My life is better for having known him.

Tom Edwards

August 28th, 2019 at 2:56am

I'm allegedly the oldest--the big. sister. But really, Harold has been our big brother in recent years. There was a time when he was the baby. He was smart. I remember teaching him stuff so he already could do his alphabet, and add and subtract when he started kindergarten. He was strong. I saw him standing on the truck bed tossing 4 by 4's into the hay mow, like they were little basketballs. Another time, he and dad took our neighbor to the hospital in a blizzard. They plowed the road open with our tractor so the car could drive to town. On the way back, they couldn't get clear home on the road anymore, so they turned off at my home and went across the fields. In order to. keep the tractor out of the bigger drifts, Harold zig zagged in front of the tractor all the way from my home on Middle Crossing to the farm home on Townhall. So strong. And when adversity came his way, he left examples for us--tips on how to cope. I know we will all remember different examples. I remember that he accepted limits. and found many worthwhile things to do within those limits--music, sports, teaching, politics. Let me know what you saw in his example.