Tag Archives: William A. Harless

Billy Lee Harless Obituary

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Harless, Billy L.; age 85; of Alma; passed away Thursday, March 31, 2016 at his home. Funeral Services for Billy will be Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Nazarene on 335 E. Elizabeth St. in Alma with Pastor Darryl Harless officiating. There will be Visitation on Monday, April 4, 2016 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Berry Funeral Home in Shepherd. Billy was born February 11, 1931 in Sod, West Virginia the son of Chester and Emma (Tyler) Harless. He served in the Army and was stationed in Japan following W.W.II. Upon returning home Billy married Nona Phillips on December 23, 1950. He worked for Total as a pipe fitter for over 30 years when he and Nona retired together in 1993. Billy was a member at the Church of the Nazarene. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and was a great family man. Billy had a wonderful sense of humor and was the spiritual patriarch of the family. Billy is survived by his wife, Nona; his 5 children, Patricia (William) Brunson Jr. of Austin, Texas, William Lee (Kathy) Harless of Alma, Boyd (Vicky) Harless of Ithaca, Darryl (Elaine) Harless of Bad Axe, and Mark (Jodi) Harless of Ithaca; 17 grandchildren; 21 great grandchildren; and his sister, Annie (Richard) Lumbert of Mt. Pleasant. Billy is preceded in death by both his parents; his sister, Sybil Flegel; and his 2 brothers, Boyd and James Harless. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Heartland Hospice.

Published in Morning Sun on Apr. 2, 2016.

Billy Lee Harless

Born: 11 February 1931.
Died: 31 March 2016.
Parents: Chester Boyd Harless and Emma Susan Tyler.
Spouse: Nona A. Phillips.
Known Children: William Lee Harless, Mark Harless, Patricia Lynne Harless, Boyd Rodney Harless, Darryl Eugene Harless.
Relationship to Johan Philip Harless: 5th great-grandson.

  1. Johan Philip Harless.
  2. Martin Harless.
  3. Philip Harless.
  4. William A. Harless.
  5. James Harrison Harless.
  6. Walter Winton Harless.
  7. Chester Boyd Harless.
  8. Billy Lee Harless.

Esther Ellen Harless Obituary

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ESTHER ELLEN HARLESS, age 87 of Huntington, W.Va., died Thursday, November 26, 2015, at her home in Wyngate Senior Living Community in Barboursville, W.Va. She was born July 8, 1928, in Logan, W.Va., a daughter of the late Luther Jasper and Velerie McComas Harless. In addition to her parents, Esther was preceded in death by her sister, Bernice Shelton. She retired from C&P Telephone. She was a member of Southside United Methodist Church where she also served as a Sunday school teacher and for many years as the conference delegate. Esther loved her God and her church and was active in many ministries of her church. She is survived by one nephew and his wife, David and Carol Shelton and their daughter Brittany Calloway; one niece and her husband, Kathy and Berlin Meredith and their sons Keenan and Josh Meredith. A graveside service will be conducted in the Abbey of Remembrance at Woodmere Memorial Park in Huntington, W.Va., at 2 p.m. Tuesday, December 1, 2015, with Rev. Jim Richards officiating. In lieu of flowers and cards, the family asks you to give to in celebration of Esther’s love for missions. Rollins Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements.

Published in The Herald-Dispatch on Nov. 30, 2015.

Esther Ellen Harless

  • Born: 8 July 1928.
  • Died: 26 November 2015.
  • Parents: Luther Jasper Harless and Valeria F. McComas.
  • Spouse: none.
  • Known Children: none.
  • Relationship to Johan Philip Harless: 5th great-granddaughter and 6th great-granddaughter.
  1. Johan Philip Harless.
  2. Martin Harless.
  3. Philip Harless.
  4. William A. Harless.
  5. Nancy Harless and Jasper Burk Harless.
  6. George William Harless.
  7. Luther Jasper Harless.
  8. Esther Ellen Harless.
  1. Johan Philip Harless.
  2. Philip Harless.
  3. Daniel Harless.
  4. Abraham Harless.
  5. William Riley Harless.
  6. Jasper Burk Harless and Nancy Harless.
  7. George William Harless.
  8. Luther Jasper Harless.
  9. Esther Ellen Harless.

Lloyd Charles Harless 1921-1944

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I look through a lot of records, some are quite boring if I’m perfectly honest, but most are interesting or informative and once in a while one makes me smile. Today I smiled. It wasn’t a happy subject. I was searching through military headstone applications on Ancestry.com, which right away tells you the subject matter is pretty gloomy.

The record that brought a smile to my face was that for Lloyd Charles Harless. On 29 December 1939, just 8 days after his 18th birthday, Lloyd enlisted in the United States Army.

World War 2 had begun, but the United States was not militarily involved and the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was not yet instituted. This meant that Lloyd had not been required to register for the draft and so by all accounts his enlistment in the army was a voluntary one.

As the oldest son, perhaps he felt it was his duty, or perhaps he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Lloyd’s father, Lissus H. Harless, had served in World War 1 when he too was just a teenager.

I don’t know much about Lloyd’s military service. I do know that in 1940 he was stationed at Fort Preble in Maine and that he served in the 439th Anti-Aircaft Artillery Battalion.

On 31 July 1944 Lloyd Charles Harless was killed in action. He was 22 years old.

I have not searched the Graves Registration Records as yet, but from his unit information it appears he was killed in Italy fighting in the Rome-Arno Campaign when the 439th was temporarily converted to infantry duty in Task Force 45.

From the headstone application made by his father and shown here, we know that his body was returned to his family for burial in the US.

Lloyd Charles Harless

I know you are wondering how any of this could have made me smile.

I smiled because I checked the reverse of the card. How many times do we forget to do that? We’ve seen the front, we have the information we were looking for, on the back we expect to see nothing more than an address or a few date stamps, but when I checked the back of Lissus H. Harless’s application for a military headstone for his hero son, I saw his pride.

I saw his pride and that made me smile.

Lloyd Charles Harless, reverse

“We don’t need this permit. Beech Grove is the Harless Cemetery for 5 generations given by Lloyds grand parents for that purpose.” Lissus Harless ‘Father’

I hope it made you smile too.

Here is where I found the record, there are several more Harless soldiers in the collection.
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963

Lloyd Charles Harless

Born: 21 December 1921.
Died: 31 July 1944.
Parents: Lissus H. Harless and June Augusta Hager.
Spouse: Zellie Brown.
Known Children: none known.
Relationship to Johan Philip Harless: wife of 5th great-grandson.

  1. Johan Philip Harless.
  2. Martin Harless.
  3. Philip Harless.
  4. William A. Harless.
  5. James Harrison Harless.
  6. Charles Anderson Harless.
  7. Lissus H. Harless.
  8. Lloyd Charles Harless.