Harold Kreider

I was born on November 6, 1930, in Campbelltown, Pa., the third son (fourth child) of Ethan and Esther Books Kreider.

Some of the most important people in the early years of my life were Dad and Mother, Grandfather, and Uncle Herbert Kreider. We lived next door to my Kreider grandparents. Grandfather was in charge of the Campbelltown Telephone Company and was responsible for installing and repairing the phones and lines. As a young boy, I "helped" him. He taught me how to set up the ladder at the poles, how to drive a car (they were all stick shift), and how to practice the safety rules of the highway.

Uncle Herbert's family lived on the nearby family farm. He showed me how to work; how to drive a tractor, operate farm machinery and milk a cow. He tolerated my growing-up years and taught me to have respect for others. I also spent a summer with Uncle Joe Stoner, helping him with his farm work.

Among my early memories are climbing the big maple trees in front of the house with a "superman" cape floating in the breeze; walking to Palmyra to pick up auto brochures from dealerships to bring home and cut out the car pictures; watching the trolleys pass in front of our house; and walking to grade school in Campbelltown with Ruth (she watched out for me. In the ninth grade I transferred to Hershey High School where I played football and participated in wrestling.

The three and a half years after high school were spent in military service. Most of that time I was stationed in Austria, where I met some of the people that Marlin knew when he was in the same area. After my military discharge, I enrolled as a student at Messiah for 2 years. It was there that Elsie Bechtel and I met, and the chemistry was ignited promptly! We were married on April 14, 1956 in Mount Joy, and I finished my college degree at Elizabethtown College, graduating in June of that year.

The next four years I worked in the finance business and our home was in Baltimore, Maryland. We were transferred to Silver Spring, Maryland, for two years, then returned again to Baltimore.

While living in Baltimore, two of our three children were born at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the third at Church Home and Hospital. Kevin married Valerie Lamberton on May 20, 1995. They have two children: Max and Mikayla. Kevin is a mathematics professor at Akron University in Ohio, and Valerie is a professional counselor. Susan married Robert Getty on August l8, l984. They have two children: Alex and Andy. Susan works in the publication office at Messiah College and Bob is a computer programmer/analyst there, as well. Mark, with his partner Sarah, lives in Portland, Oregon, and is the manager of a Goodwill Industries Store in the city. Sarah works in the political arena. Their son Isaac joined the family on February 23, 2006. Mark and Sarah were married January 18 , 2015.

In 1968 we were transferred to Ohio and have lived there ever since. My job in the finance field necessitated traveling a good bit, and Elsie is credited with holding our family together during those years. After retiring from that work, I was in auto sales for fifteen years and then worked part-time, both in sales and driving van for Holiday Inn before my retirement in 2002. Elsie had extensive experience as an orthodontic assistant and later as office financial coordinator for a multiple-doctor orthodontic firm.

We have been active in our church wherever we lived; Elsie was church organist at the Dundalk Church of the Brethren while we were in Baltimore. Choir was always been a part of our ministry in the churches we have attended. Presently we are members of the Concord United Methodist Church in Englewood, Ohio. We are glad to be here where we have lived now for 30 years!

Harold died October 6, 2012