Harold D. "Joe" Searles

Harold D. “Joe” Searles, age 77, of Mt. Etna, died at 3:37 a.m. Sunday, January 19, 2014 at Visiting Nurse and Hospice Home in Fort Wayne. Family will receive friends from 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. Wednesday (January 22, 2014) and from 3 - 7 p.m. Thursday (January 23, 2014) at Bailey-Love Mortuary, 35 West Park Drive, Huntington. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday (January 24, 2014) at Mt. Etna United Methodist Church with one hour of visitation prior to the service. Pastor Sam Padgett will be officiating. Entombment will be held in Gardens of Memory in Huntington County with military rites performed by the VFW Post #2689 of Huntington. Preferred memorials are to Visiting Nurse and Hospice Home and Mt. Etna United Methodist Church, in care of Bailey-Love Mortuary, 35 West Park Drive, Huntington, Indiana. Joe was born July 3, 1936 in Mt. Etna, the son of Alva L. and Mildred E. (Buzzard) Searles. He graduated from Jefferson Township High School in 1954. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He married Peggy E. McCoy on May 19, 1957 at Jefferson Center United Methodist Church. He and his wife owned and operated Joe & Peg’s Grocery in Mt. Etna for 40 years. He also worked for the Mt. Etna Lumber Company. He was a devoted and dedicated member of the Mt. Etna United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Men. He was a member of the Mt. Etna Volunteer Fire Department for over 40 years. He was a State Representative of the Bluetick Breeders and Coonhunters Association and an avid lover of the outdoors. He enjoyed coon hunting and rabbit hunting. Joe is survived by his wife of 56 years - Peggy Searles of Mt. Etna; his son - Todd Searles of Mt. Etna; one daughter - Terri (Pike) (Karl) Schultise of Fort Wayne; four grandchildren - Marisa Winter of Lubbock, Texas, Brandon Pike of Nashville, Tennessee, and Kaylee Searles and Aaron Boone Searles, both of Mt. Etna; one great grandchild - Colter Winter of Lubbock, Texas; five brothers - Herb (Neysa) Searles of Lebanon, Gene (Pat) Searles, Glen Searles, and Roger Searles, all of Huntington, and Ray (Jane) Searles of Bluffton; three sisters - Mable (Bob) Burnsworth of Huntington, Ruth (Maurice) Shenefield of Rochester, and Louise Anderson of Huntington; and one sister-in-law - Kim Searles of Greenwood. His parents, one daughter - Tamara Searles, one brother - Carl Searles, two sisters - Carlette Searles and Barbara Searles, and one brother-in-law - Andy Anderson, and two sisters-in-law - Wiladean Searles and Mary Lou Searles, preceded him in death.

Harold D. "Joe" Searles

July 3, 1936 - January 19, 2014