Lowell Haahr

July 1, 1927 - December 16, 2018

Lowell Haahr, age 91, of Newell, Iowa died on Sunday, December 16, 2018 at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, Iowa. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. at the Nain Lutheran Church in Newell. Burial will be in the Newell Cemetery. Visitation will take place on Friday, December 21, 2018 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in NEWELL. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Newell is in charge of the arrangements. Lowell Jensen Haahr was born on July 1, 1927 on a farm east of Newell in Newell township, Buena Vista County, Iowa to parents, Victor Otto and Mildred Agneta (Jensen) Haahr, and welcomed by his older sister Elaine. A little more than nine years later he was welcoming his little sister, Audrey. He was baptized and confirmed in Nain Lutheran Church, Newell, Iowa, where he was active all of his life singing in choir, serving on the church council as well as other committees, and taught Sunday school classes for a few years. He graduated from Newell High School in 1945. While in school, he enjoyed participating in music activities, school plays, and basketball games. In 1943, Lowell, along with his dance partner and cousin, Joyce Andersen, won the school's first jitterbug dance contest. Shortly after graduation, he was drafted and served in the US Army, Asiatic Pacific Theater in World War II from August 1945 to December 1946. During his service, he was stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska and was a member of the 494th Army Service Forces Band, playing bass drum. He also played harmonica with the “Hog Holler Five,” a band providing music for square dances at the Post Service Club. He was a lifelong member (sixty-three years) of the Newell American Legion, Post 193. Following his army service, Lowell began farming with his father, Victor, until his death in 1949. Lowell, along with his mother, then assumed responsibility of operating the family's farm located northeast of Newell. While farming in the 1940s, he attended “winter school” for farmers at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa. On August 4, 1957, Lowell was united in marriage to Esther Marie Laursen at Oak Hill Lutheran Church, located in the country near Atlantic, Iowa. A few years later they were blessed with two daughters, Julianne and Sonia. Lowell and Esther lived for forty-four years on the farm near Newell, and shortly after retirement in 2001, moved to their home in the town of Newell, where he has spent the remainder of his life. Music held a prominent place throughout Lowell's life. He loved to sing, perform, and entertain people. During the 1950s, he sang in the Storm Lake Barbershoppers. Many remember his “One-Man Square Dance” act, which he performed locally as part of a fundraising effort to build a municipal swimming pool in Newell. For several years he played drums in “The Rhythmaires,” band, and occasionally jammed with other local musicians. He enjoyed listening to jazz from the 1920s, '30s, and Big Band era. He loved to amuse people with his slapstick antics and was an animated storyteller. Many remember him for bringing smiles and laughter, reminding us about the fun that life provides on a regular basis. Lowell is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Esther Haahr of Newell; daughters, Julianne Haahr of Madison, Wisconsin and Sonia (Kirk) Brown of Newell; grandson, Graham Brown of Storm Lake, Iowa; sister, Elaine A. Jacobson of Sandy Springs (Atlanta), Georgia; nieces, Vicki Hathaway of Sandy Springs (Atlanta), Georgia, and Christine (Barry) O'Neill of North Palm Beach, Florida; brother-in-laws, Verner (Barbara) Laursen of Appleton, Wisconsin and Paul (Carol) Laursen of Crawfordsville, Indiana; along with several nieces, nephews, and cousins. Those preceding him in death include his father, Victor and mother, Mildred; sister, Audrey D. Deforest and nephew, Wade Deforest; brother-in-law, Gail E. (“Jake”) Jacobson; parents-in-law, John and Metta Laursen; brother- and sister-in-laws, Marvin and Ardyth Laursen, and Vera and Curtiss Johnson.