Kenneth Dean Harre

Mr. Kenneth Dean Harre of Yorba Linda, California departed this life at the University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 10:15 pm from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He had attained the age of 77 years. Ken was born in Covington, Illinois on January 19 th, 1938 the son of Henry and Verdell (Reinhardt) Harre. He was baptized and confirmed at St Luke Lutheran Church in Covington. He was united in marriage to Geraldine (Wozniak) Harre and she survives his passing. He attended Okawville High School and after graduation he served in the United States Army Reserves. He attended Southern Illinois University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and was admitted as a CPA in 1962. He worked for the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen, becoming a partner in 1977. He owned his own accounting firm Harre Consulting for 20 years, eventually retiring in 2009. He was not a typical CPA performing audits; rather, he loved his work, which involved problem solving, and the litigation aspects of accounting. During his career Ken traveled to many countries for work. He was a member of the Southern Illinois University College of Business Advisory Board and was instrumental in establishing the Edward J. Schmidlein, Jr. Teaching Endowment to support student scholarships. He was always a proud Saluki. Left to mourn his passing is his wife, Geri of Yorba Linda, California; children, Julia Harre of Falmouth, Maine, Jane Harre of Rohnert Park, California, Bryan and Karla (Jenkins) Harre of Oxnard, California, Debra Harre of Newport Beach, California, Nancy and Brian Peterson of Barrington, Illinois; Four grandchildren, Kathleen, Brett, Kanan, and Emerson; His stepson Mark and wife Teri Beveridge of San Diego, California, and step grandchildren Sami and Deryck; His siblings Lois (Harre) and Leonard Obenneier, Don and Gerry Harre, Ruth (Auld) Harre, Betty (Harre) and Norbert Hasheider, and Connie (Harre) and James Blair and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Henry and Verdell (Reinhardt) Harre and his brother Duane Harre. Ken enjoyed spending time with his wife Geri, his children and grandchildren. He enjoyed baseball, and basketball, especially his beloved St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Bulls. He was a devoted member of St. Martin's Parish. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his memory to the Edward J. Schmidlein, Jr. Teaching Excellence Endowment Fund, Southern Illinois Foundation, 235 Douglas Drive, mail code 6805, Carbondale, IL 62901-4308.