Werner Louis Harsch

His family and friends will celebrate his life at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Trinity Lutheran Church in Miles, with the Rev. Diane Eggemeyer officiating after a private graveside service at the Miles Cemetery. Family visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church, at St. John and Sixth Street in Miles. Arrangements are by Johnson’s Funeral Home.

Werner was born September 15, 1911 in Marble Falls to Rudolph and Johanna Harsch, and the family moved to Miles in 1917. "When I saw the water tank at that time, I didn’t know I’d be looking at it for so long," he said.

He and his younger sister Vera would skip the first few weeks of school, instead picking cotton. Once the first bale was sold, the family could afford new clothes and shoes for school.

When he was eight, he went along with his dad to inspect some horses for sale. There, he met Eleanor Salling, who became a close friend, and eventually his wife when the two were married on Nov. 15, 1936, the start of a 73 year marriage that grew stronger every year until her death in September 2010.

He graduated from Miles High School in 1931 and had a wide variety of jobs, once saying "I’ve done everything in Miles except move hay." Among other things, Werner worked at the grocery store, the bank, a plumbing company, delivered fuel to farmers, ran a dairy, and worked as a salesman with confidence in his product. "I sold many a Maytag stove because I could stand on the oven door," he said.

He joined the Miles Volunteer Fire Department in 1933 and remained active in the department into his 90s. He also served as the city’s water superintendent for several years, beginning in 1956. "I had a grubbing hoe, a shovel, and a wrench, so I was qualified," he said.

In 1987, in what he called "one of my weaker moments," Werner agreed to run for mayor of Miles. He served his community for 12 years in that role, and was honored as the oldest mayor in Texas a few years before he retired.

During his tenure as mayor, the city expanded and improved its infrastructure, all while keeping the city’s budget balanced and without issuing bonds. He also served as chaplain for the Fort Concho Water Utilities Association, and received the Miles Lion’s Club’s Man of the Year Award, as well as the Community Builder Award, among numerous other honors.

He and Eleanor were lifetime members of both the Miles PTA and the Miles Booster Club and were honored with lifetime passes to all Bulldog sporting events. Werner fully embraced his role as Miles’s "Number One Bulldog Fan," leading the football team caravan out of town on the way to road games, and parking his truck outside the south end zone for home games, honking his horn with every Miles score. "People would say, 'We didn’t see you at the game, but we heard you,'" he said.

He also served as Miles’s unofficial town historian, with a remarkable memory for details, for instance, knowing the locations, owners and employees of the ten gas stations in Miles in the 1930s shortly before he turned 100. While telling an elementary school class about watching as a child when the bricks were laid for the streets in downtown Miles, a student asked just how many bricks there were. Werner and his brother in law, Fred Salling, both well into their 90s, spent a hot August afternoon measuring and calculating to find an answer.

Last September, he celebrated his 100th birthday with more than 200 guests, and was honored with a ceremony renaming the gymnasium floor at Miles High School 'Werner Harsch Court.'

Werner’s dedication to his community was only surpassed by his love for his family and Trinity Lutheran Church, where his parents were charter members, and he and Eleanor both attended for 90-plus years. Even after moving to an assisted living facility in San Angelo, he and Eleanor made it a point to be back in their pew, now modified to fit their walkers, at Trinity Lutheran each Sunday.

He was a man of deep faith, often advising to "keep praying, because God’s answers are wiser than our requests" and giving out copies of his "Christian Survival Kit," with verses he’d found helpful during tough times. He served as a councilman for the church, and played a key role on the building committee for the new church building, built in the 1930s.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Eleanor and Werner Harsch Miles Bulldog Scholarship Fund, San Angelo Area Foundation 2201 Sherwood Way, Suite 205 San Angelo, TX 76901-3081; and Trinity Lutheran Church, Box 265, Miles, TX 76861.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Vera Mozingo; his adored wife of 73 years, Eleanor; and his son, Hollis Harsch. The memory of Werner’s wit, love and wisdom live on for daughter in law Hazel Harsch of San Angelo, grandson Johnny Harsch and wife Cecilia of Fort Worth, granddaughter Monique McAllister and husband Dr. Chris McAllister of Broken Bow, Okla. and great-grandchildren Nikolas and Zarah; daughter Mary Thorn and husband Gayland of Fredonia, granddaughter Cyndi Barnett and husband Mike of Luling, great-grandchildren Kati and Michael; son Bob Harsch and wife Janice of Amarillo, grandson Travis Harsch of Austin, granddaughter Tamsen Oglesby and husband Tommy of Pearland; nieces Verna Kalama and Janie Mozingo of Washington state, and the people of Miles.

Our family thanks to Pastor Diane Eggemeyer, Royal Estates, Meadow Creek Nursing Center and Odyssey Hospice for their care, love and support of Werner.

Family and friends may sign the online register book at www.johnsons-funeralhome.com