AKERS, Harold (Russ)

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ January 18, 2011 Harold “Russ” Akers died Dec. 30, 2010. He was born May 5, 1924, in Beckemeyer, Ill. He said he had no claim to fame, but he served in World War II with Patton’s army as a company clerk then became a much beloved elementary school teacher in Arlington Heights, Ill. He married Florence Wilson Akers in 1955 and they moved to Brawley, Calif. in 1964. Russ taught elementary school and was a counselor at Imperial Valley College until retirement, when they moved to Lakeside, where they’d had a summer home. Russ left an obituary that said “God has protected this ignorant country boy from birth until death. My friends have been too numerous to list. My happiness I owe to my wife, Florence, (who died in July 2010), my daughter Laura, my granddaughter, Kathryn, my goddaughter Bertha and my oldest sister, Gladys.” He included this poem: “Sunset and an evening star And one clear call for me And may there be no moaning at the bar When I set out to sea If I have any sorrows, it is the conditions of the world If I should live to be the last leaf upon the tree in the Spring Let them laugh, as I do now At the old forsaken bough Where I cling.” A memorial service will be held July 16, 2011, at the Community Presbyterian Church in Pinetop. Donations should be sent to: Imperial Valley Foundation P.O. Box 158 Imperial, CA 92251. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 07/08/2011 A memorial for Harold Russell Akers will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the Community Presbyterian Church, 1940 S. Penrod Lane in Pinetop. Harold "Russ" Akers died Dec. 30, 2010. He was born May 5, 1924, in Beckemeyer, Ill. He said he had no claim to fame, but he served in World War II with Patton's army as a company clerk then became a much beloved elementary school teacher in Arlington Heights, Ill. He married Florence Wilson Akers in 1955 and they moved to Brawley, Calif. in 1964. Russ taught elementary school and was a counselor at Imperial Valley College until retirement, when they moved in 1989 to Lakeside, where they'd had a summer home. He is survived by his daughter, Laura Akers and granddaughter, Kathryn Anear of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.