Funeral services for Harry DeWall, 92, of McLaughlin will be at 11 AM, MT, Thursday, August 29, 2019, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in McLaughlin. Burial will be at Black Hills National Cemetery, Friday at 2 PM, MT, under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Visitation will be one hour prior to services. Harry passed away Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at Sanford Health Sunset Care in Mandan.

Harry (Fritz) DeWall was born on January 18, 1927 to George and Theresa DeWall in a small home in Dawson, ND. Harry lived out his younger years in Dawson, raising hell with his brothers and working all the same.  The DeWall boys used to hunt skunks before school and when they walked in everyone knew the DeWall boys were in attendance that day. They made pretty good money for the family off the skunk pelts. When they were in their teens Harry and his brother Pete, hitched a ride on a train to Illinois to find work. He made $30 a month and kept $5 to live off of and sent the rest home to take care of the family. This speaks volumes of the work ethic the Dewall boys had. When they were working in Dawson they would often walk to Steele to catch a movie after all of the day's work was done.

When Harry was 17, four of his brothers had already been serving in America's Armed Forces. He made the decision that he wanted to join the fight with his parents' approval he signed up to join the Navy in 1944. He spent two years in the U.S. Navy and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950 to avoid being drafted with the Navy. Harry's time in the service was served during WWII and the Korean Conflict.

While serving in the Navy, he was aboard the USS Idaho, and was thirty miles off the shore of Iwo Jima when the American flag was raised. Harry was honorably discharged from the Navy as a Seaman second class in 1946.

During his time in the Army, Harry worked as a cook, feeding masses of soldiers and spending the majority of his career in the chow halls. Harry was honorably discharged from the US Army in 1953 as a sergeant in the regular Army.

When he returned home, Harry worked for a construction company that did lots of work around North Dakota. While working construction he met his wife of 61 years, Esther Nielsen. They were married on August 15, 1958 and had four of five children Raymond, Judy, Tammy and Lois before moving in March of 1964. After leaving New England, they moved to McLaughlin, SD where they had one more child, Bill. This is where Harry became a meat cutter at the local grocery store and made it a career for 30+ years.

Harry was a member of the American Legion Post #121 based out of McLaughlin. He enjoyed watching his boys play American legion baseball as well as his grandkids participate in their sports.

He loved attending all, especially local, sporting events. It brought him joy to see how the teams progressed through the years. If he could be there, he would be there. He genuinely loved supporting the local athletes.

Harry was a friendly old soul, who greeted any and everyone he encountered when he was out and about. He was highly respected in the community and those surrounding.

Harry is survived by his wife Esther (Nielsen) DeWall; brother Walter (Lois) DeWall; children Raymond (Lisa) DeWall, Judy DeWall, Tammy (Keenan) Miller, Lois (Mike) Buechler, and Bill (Angie) DeWall; grandkids, Denise, Jason, Christopher (Jenn), Danielle, Justin (Sheyenne), Kevin, Michael, Melissa, Zach, Jayson, Mackenzie, Jacquelyn, Janessa and Jadynn; great-grandchildren Jaden and Logan.

Harry is preceded in death by his parents George and Theresa; his four sisters; eight brothers; one child and one grandchild.

Pallbearers: grandchildren Jason, Christopher, Justin, Michael, Kevin, Zach, Jayson and Mackenzie.

Honorary Pallbearers: his granddaughters Melissa, Jacquelyn, Janessa and Jadynn; Ian Weist, American Legion Post #121, American Legion Post #239, American Legion Post #82.