July
17, 1921 - Jan. 5, 2010MISHAWAKA - Claude E. Harness, 88, of Mishawaka, passed away Tuesday, January 5, 2010, in his home. Claude was born July 17, 1921, in Smokey Junction, Tennessee, the son of the late J.B. and Sylvania (Massingale) Harness. He grew up in Smokey Junction. From 1942-1945 Claude served his country in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He attended Lincoln Memorial University. On January 31, 1946, Claude married Glenis V. Ward. They lived in Smokey Junction until moving to South Bend in 1953. In 1998 they moved to Hampton, South Carolina, and returned to this area in 2005, settling in Mishawaka. Claude was employed as a school teacher in Smokey Junction. He was a truck driver for 20 years with Boland Driveaway-Truck Away Corporation and retired from the St. Joseph County Highway Department after 16 years of service. Claude enjoyed reading Western books and watching old Western movies, and he was an avid fisherman. Claude's surviving family includes his wife of nearly 64 years, Glenis; two sons, Roy (Carol) Harness of Newport, Rhode Island, and Rodney (Teri) Harness of Mishawaka; a sister, Doris Glase of Hampton, South Carolina; six grandchildren, Jennifer Rogers of Rhode Island, Tanya Peckham of Virginia, and Dana Cheney, Gabe Harness, William Kornrumph and Tim Kornrumph, all of Indiana; and 17 great-grandchildren. Claude was preceded in death by two sisters, Eller Weston and Dora Lee Williams. Friends may spend time with Claude's family Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Thallemer, Goethals & Wells Funeral Home, 503 West Third Street, Mishawaka. Services will be held in the funeral home Friday at 1 p.m., with Pastor Scott Smith officiating. Burial with military honors will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Osceola.