Harold B. Summons

Harold Brown Summons – A Life of Love Born: 5-22-1913, Warsaw, Kentucky Passed Away: 11-5-2010, Denver, Colorado Age: 97 Harold was living in Thornton, Colorado with his only child, Wayne Summons, up to the time of his passing. Harold had been a long-time resident of Grand Junction, living on Mayfair Drive with his wife Ruth from 1985 to 2005 (at which time he moved to his son's home). Ruth preceded Harold in death in 2004. He is survived by his son and his two grandsons, Elliot Summons and Phillip Summons, both of Denver. He was preceded in death by all his sisters (3) and by all his brothers (4). His father, William Robert Summons, passed away when Harold was only 4 years old, in 1918. His mother, who remarried, Daisy Agnes Erickson (maiden name, Sumner), passed away in 1946. Harold's adolescent and early teen years were spent in southeastern North Dakota on the family farm near Gwinner, and then he worked on ranches and in gold mines in Montana during the 1930's – and he always sent money home to his mother during those dark Depression years, even when his own earnings were light and lean. Harold enlisted in the Army in the spring of 1941 as war clouds gathered in Europe and Asia. Harold served with distinction as his Company's First Sergeant in the invasions of Kwajalein and Eniwetok , in the Marshall Islands of the South Pacific in February, 1944, and in the invasions of Guam, Saipan and Tinian, in the Mariana Islands, in June and July, 1944 – being wounded with shrapnel on Saipan. He was serving on the island of Tinian on August 6, 1945 when the Enola Gay B-29 bomber took off from that island for the first atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. Harold transferred to the Air Force in 1947 and immediately participated in the first Cold War confrontation with the Soviet Communists, in the Berlin Airlift, while being stationed in England. During the Korean War, Harold served at radar installations near Fairbanks, Alaska. He was stationed at various times in Florida, Mississippi, Maryland, Wyoming, and Missouri. In 1963, after 21 years in military service he retired to Colorado from Sheppard Air Force Base near Wichita Falls, Texas with the rank of Master Sergeant. By any reckoning, he was truly a member in good standing of America's ""Greatest Generation."" Harold was a machinist and gun smith, having great mastery of all things mechanical, and was well known and admired throughout Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and other states by those who regularly attended gun shows. Harold had been in declining health for several months prior to his passing. He will be profoundly missed by his family and his many friends. He was a man of vigor, kindness, boundless charity, sincerity, good-natured humor, devotion to family and country, high principles, traditional American values, and most assuredly, love. He found enjoyment in many things, particularly just watching little children play and discovering the wonder of their young lives. To his son, ""He was my rock of ages; he was my granite foundation. He was my devoted, wise and ever-loving good shepherd - the one who insisted on always being there for me, no matter what. A world without this wondrous man is a far, far emptier one - not just for me, but for all who knew him. I love you, dad, and I miss you terribly. I look to the smiling, beaming moment when our spirits reunite in the presence of the Lord."" The funeral will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov 13th, at the Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3101 South Wadsworth Blvd, Denver, CO 80227, 303-986-9615. He will later be interred in a private ceremony with full military honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery, in Denver, rejoining his loving wife, Ruth. Please share your memories of Harold and condolences with his family by selecting the ""sign guestbook"" button below.