Wilbur Harter

Wilbur Merrill Harter (“Bill”) of Des Moines, Iowa passed away peacefully in his residence on January 10, 2020. He was born in West Grove, Iowa October 5, 1920 and attended school in West Grove and Bloomfield, Iowa. He drove truck hauling limestone and other things throughout Davis County and parts of central and southern Iowa. He married Christine Curry (Swift) of Bloomfield and the two of them during WWII worked for a time in Chicago making airplane parts for the war. In 1947 they moved to Des Moines, Iowa to purchase a home and with relatives from both sides of the family purchase and operate Corty’s Cafeteria. Later this restaurant was sold and another opened in the Drake University area. Wilbur was known for his cheerful spirit, hard work, and strong constitution. For approximately 7 years he worked at Armstrong Tire and Rubber and in the evening, he sold Fuller Brush products. Later he owned and operated the APCO gas and service station on Forrest Avenue. For a time with his brother Willis he was in the transfer and storage business mainly as a driver. The warehouse was located at 3rd Street South of Des Moines’ downtown. From Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy, you can still see the letters Rocket Transfer on the brick exterior. In his later years he was a courier for Quest Diagnostics collecting specimens from clinics around the state and taking them back to Des Moines for analysis. Wilbur loved to drive and look at the Iowa scenery especially in the spring looking at the green fields and watching the young calves jump around. “Bill” as he was known by many also became an excellent boat driver. With the assistance of Johnny Saylor, he constructed a kit boat from Chris Craft. The family would ski on the Des Moines River and for years had a dock on Gray’s Lake. He was one of the main drivers for The Des Moines Ski Hawks where the whole family was charter members. He also helped many family and friends learn to water ski. “Bill” and Christine were avid ballroom dancers during the swing era. Both taught ballroom dance at the Arthur Murray Studios. They would often dance two and three times a week and occasionally at private home parties. They could “cut a rug”. Wilbur also enjoyed family vacations driving west and south to see the landmarks. His kids would beg him to sing his songs about big women, cowboys, smokers, drifters, and gamblers. As a youth he sang with his brother Willis and sister Willa Mae. They were appreciated throughout southern Iowa for singing Gospel and traditional American songs in three-part harmony. Known as “The Singing Harters,” they sang at pot luck socials and church events. They could have sung for a broader audience. But their mother, Bertha, would not allow them to sing anywhere alcohol was sold. Though not known for being a church goer, Wilbur’s faith was always in Jesus. Gone before him are his former wife Christine Curry (from the Swift family of Bloomfield), his beloved mother Bertha Walker (Leeps) who lived many of her later years in a house that Wilbur and his brother Willis bought for her across from Bloomfield High School, Willa Mae Henderson who spent most all her life in West Grove and was visited by Wilbur and his family frequently, and many friends from West Grove, Bloomfield, and Des Moines who could not make it to age 99. Wilbur is survived by his children Douglas and Merrillyn who took care of him in his final years. His heart was always in West Grove which he spoke of often and fondly. Now his ashes will be there in the cemetery behind the church of his childhood. More words could not express how much and how dearly we miss you. Memorial services will be at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at the Wagler Funeral Home in Bloomfield, Iowa. Burial will be at the West Grove Cemetery.

Wilbur Harter

October 5, 1920 - January 10, 2020