Eugene Lawrence Harder

Gene Harder, the son of Pleasant Howard Harder and Grace T. Harder, was born in Muse, OK. Soon after, his family moved to Durango, CO, and then at age 4 on to Fellows, CA where he grew up. He was a track and field athlete in high school, graduating from Taft High in 1937 and then on to Taft Junior College. From there he moved to Long Beach, CA working in the Naval Shipyard, building liberty ships at the beginning of WWII. In 1943 he enlisted in the Army, and just prior to shipping out to the Philippines, he met the love of his life, June Meadors. After returning from the war, he and June were married in 1947 and settled in Taft where he worked in the oilfields. After 42 years of marriage, he lost his June and later married Jean Smith. He moved to Bakersfield and they had a happy life together for 22 years before Jean passed. For the last 4 plus years, Gene became a fixture in several Bakersfield restaurants where he regularly met with friends for breakfast and coffee. He was a family man who loved God and country. Gene loved to travel when he could and play games (winning way more than his share by the way!). He always had the cleanest and best cared-for car in town, and people got in line to buy when he was ready to sell. He excelled at his profession and mentored many along the way. As a very disciplined man, he lived a structured and organized life, such as every night ironing his clothes for the next day and wiping off the car. He attended church his whole life and set an example for his family and friends of how to live a Christian life. When he got into his 90's people marveled at how active he was and how he was up on current events. He was often asked to what he attributed his long life, and without fail he always said, "Clean living and hard work" and then smiled. Gene had a long and full life, was loved by many and was an inspiration to his family and all who knew him. We will all miss him terribly, but know that he is home in Heaven. On March 17, 2016 at age 96 he finished the race. He was predeceased by his brothers, Buford and Ray. He is survived by his son Dean and wife Carolyn, daughter Deanna, grandchildren Kimberly (Jeff) Tabor and Jeff Harder. Gene is also survived by his two great grandchildren, Kaylen June and Polly Addison Tabor. A graveside funeral service will be held in the West Side District Cemetery on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. There are no visitation hours scheduled.

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