Harvey William Felten
Harvey William Felten was born the day after Christmas in 1919 the youngest of eight children.
Raised on a farm in northern Indiana, Harvey learned to work hard. In his “spare” time, he ran a trap line and learned taxidermy to support his passions of hunting and fishing.
Always known by his family to have an inexplicable urge for adventure, Harvey joined the Army Air Corps in July 1941 and served until January 1943. His biggest disappointment was not being allowed to personally bring the war to the Huns in a fighter plane. (Lucky for them)
After the war, Harvey lived and worked in Arizona for a time. With his rifle in hand, if not his shirt, he could be found on the back of a ‘37 Harley. He really enjoyed the heady excitement of life in the West.
If Dad had a defining trait, it was his intensity for life. He worked hard and he played hard. After he met Marilyn Kalmon, he courted hard, too. A cousin of mine reported that Harve could really make his Lincoln roll when he was headed to see his sweetheart in Medford Wis.
They married in 1952 and settled in Denver to raise their five kids. There he taught them all about hard work, high expectations and the value of character, as well as how to fish and hunt and in general, how to handle what came along without whining.
In 1959 the adventure spirit won out again and mom and dad explored North Idaho looking for the Happy Hunting Ground. They bought some property near Bottle Bay in 1960 where the family vacationed regularly. A house followed in 1978 and they moved in 1981. Here he did what he always did, worked hard, played hard, and extended a helping hand. Dad suffered a series of small strokes around six years ago and slowly lost his ability to be physical and to communicate to his satisfaction. He deplored being useless and resisted it to the end.
Dad died on July 9, 2008, at 88 years old in the company of his wife of 55 years, his children and his grandchildren. Our loss is Heaven’s gain.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Felten of Sandpoint; son, William Felten of Sandpoint; daughter, Diana Williams of Kennewick Wash.; daughter, Linda Loeffler of Medical Lake, Wash.; daughter, Maureen Shaffer of Littleton, Colo.; son, Dean Felten of Washington, D.C.; 13 grandchildren; a sister, Marian Bloemink of Mishawaka, Ind.; and numerous nieces and nephews
The Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, July 9, 2008, in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Father Carlos Perez will officiate.
Family and friends are invited to sign Harvey’s online guest book at www.coffeltfuneral.com. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Coffelt Funeral Service.