Harry W. Himelrick

Harry Wayman Himelrick was born in Hundred, West Virginia, as the fourth of five children to William Ray and Mary Winona Himelrick on December 27, 1926. Harry was two years old when his father had to leave home and travel around West Virginia and neighboring states to find work during the Great Depression. He finally found permanent work at the shipyards of Baltimore, Maryland. Although the family moved there when Harry was 14 years old, he stayed in Hundred and lived with his grandmother and aunt until he finished high school, where he played football and basketball. After graduation from high school, Harry was drafted by the United States Army. Basic training was at Camp Walters in Mineral Wells, Texas. Upon completing basic training, he was sent to Germany. A recruiter convinced Harry to apply to Jump School in Frankfurt. After a rigorous four months of training, he was inducted into the 82nd Airborne Division, a US Army infantry division that specializes in parachute assaults into hostile areas. In 1949 Harry used his GI Benefits and enrolled in David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee, where on the first day of school he met Doris Eloise Bomar. They were married a year later, in 1950, at the Raus Church of Christ. They welcomed their first child, Mary Jo in 1953. Harry graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. He took his first job as a teacher and athletic director at The Webb School, a preparatory school for boys. Their second child, Timothy Ray, was then born in 1954, followed by Janet Louise in 1957. Harry's next job was with J.R. Watkins, and he was transferred to Dallas, Texas, in 1959. This is where the family lived until they built a house and farm in Ovilla in 1979. Tragically, Harry and Doris lost their son, Tim, in a car accident right after they moved to Ovilla. Their church family and their faith in God carried them through this agonizing time in their lives. Harry and Doris welcomed seven grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren, all who loved visiting Ovilla to ride the tractor and groom the horses with GiGi and Great Harry. Harry and Doris celebrated 74 years of marriage on September 4, 2024. On the day he passed, Harry and Doris spent several hours reminiscing about their life together, their love for one another, and their love of their family. What a beautiful way to leave this life and begin a new one with the Lord.