Hiekalena "Hieke" Harms

George, IA

     Hiekalena “Hieke” Harms, age 97, of George, IA died Monday, August 21, 2023, at the Sanford Senior Care in Sheldon, IA.

    Memorial services will take place at 2:00 PM Thursday, August 24, 2023, at First Baptist Church of rural George with Pastor Jessie Sternke officiating.  A private family gathering will take place at Noon on Thursday at the Jurrens Funeral Home in George, prior to burial at Evergreen Lawn Cemetery in George, IA.

     Hiekalena Arends the daughter of John and Mary (Johnson) Arends was born on October 11, 1925, in Brookings, SD.  The family lived six years in South Dakota, then ten years in Minnesota, moving to Iowa after that.

     Hiekalena was united in marriage to Sylvester Harms on March 14, 1944.  She was baptized in 1947 and became a member of the Central Baptist Church in George, IA.

     They began their farming career on the Harms family farm northwest of George.  This farm became a Century Farm in 2000.  They farmed until 1988 when they moved to their home in George.  Hiekalena was the church janitor and on the church flower committee.  

       She and her husband moved to Cobble Creek Assisted Living in October of 2018.  On March 10, 2019, her husband Sylvester passed away and in January of 2022, Hiekalena moved to Sanford Assisted Living in Sheldon, IA.

     Those left to cherish her memory are daughter, LaDonna and son, Gerald (Patricia) Harms; nine grandchildren, Ron (Marla) Schmith, Ricky (Sandy) Schmith, Randy (Janet) Schmith, Lisa (Gary) Vanderpol, Ryan (Britney) Schmith, Roger (Shayla) Schmith, Teresa Harms, Debbie (Bill) Kock, and Wendy Harms; twenty-four great grandchildren and twenty-six great-great grandchildren; two brothers, Sweer Arends and Henry Arends of Ellsworth, MN; and many nieces, nephews, and other extended family members.

     She was preceded in death by her husband, Sylvester Harms; parents, John and Mary Arends; brothers, Harry, John, George, and Raymond; sisters, Anne and Mary; son-in-law, Dean Schmith; great-grandson, Ross Radell Schmith; and great-great-granddaughter, Destiny Joy Schmith.