Harold L. Wetzel went to his heavenly home on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at the age of 93. He was born on November 12, 1930, in Hegins, Pennsylvania. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elsie Schoen Wetzel. He is survived by his five children and their spouses; Debbie and Harlan Clardy, Harold (Jr.) and Lisa Wetzel, Lynda and Keith DiMaio, Tim and Lisa Wetzel, and Laura and John Peterman; 17 grandchildren; and 20 great grandchildren.
After graduating from high school in 1948, Harold joined the Air Force at the age of 18 which was called the Army Air Force at that time. When Harold completed basic training, he attended welding school and spent time stationed in Fort Worth, Texas, doing welding maintenance on aircraft.
Harold decided that he wanted to see the world while in the military, so he requested a transfer to Europe. The Air Force granted his request for a transfer by sending him to Guam. After spending six months at a base in Guam, the Korean War broke out. Harold was then transferred to Okinawa to serve on a base there. While in Okinawa he continued his welding work helping to repair bombers.
At the end of his four-year enlistment in July of 1952, Harold was discharged, and he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he got a job as a welder. While in Philly, he took a room in a boarding house and began dating the landlord’s youngest daughter. When his landlord caught wind of this relationship, Harold had to move out. However, he did end up marrying the daughter, Elsie Schoen, in August of 1953. Harold was known in Pennsylvania as Chic, a childhood nickname that Elsie called him their entire marriage.
While working in Philadelphia, Harold decided that he did not see himself working as a welder for the rest of his life. He applied and went to Temple University during the day while welding full time on second shift at night. Harold earned his Associates Degree in Electronics in 1956; he had decided that this was an “up and coming” field. After receiving his associate’s degree, Harold took a job at IBM (in spite of having to take a pay cut from his welding work). Harold eventually wrote embedded software at IBM.
Harold moved in 1956 with Elsie and his firstborn to Wappingers Falls, New York, to start his job at IBM in Poughkeepsie. While living there, Harold and Elsie joined a Nazarene church; it was also there that their four other children were born. In 1970 Harold transferred with IBM to a Raleigh office and then to RTP and moved his family to Raleigh, North Carolina. After looking for a home in the Raleigh area, Harold and Elsie moved into a new construction home in the Northridge neighborhood which was his home for the rest of his life.
After joining Raleigh First Church of the Nazarene in Garner, Harold joined five other families to plant a Nazarene Church in North Raleigh, aptly name North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene. Harold served as the financial secretary for the church for decades as well as serving on the church board as a steward for a number of years. He also played on the church softball team until he was in his sixties as a pitcher and as a catcher.
Harold took an early retirement from IBM in 1989 when he was 59 years old, and he fully enjoyed his retirement years. A special memory included a trip to Scotland with Elsie and two other couples to visit another couple they had met through church.
After Elsie’s death in 1997, Harold filled his time with square dancing, golf, softball, and eating out. Favorite restaurant haunts for him included Milton’s, the Creedmoor Café, and Brigs where he was known as a regular and called by name. In fact, the wait staff at Brigs would simply ask if he wanted the usual—a ham and cheese omelet with coffee—black. The family would joke that Harold’s longevity was due to his love of black coffee and eating ice cream or chocolate chip cookies on a daily basis. He was known until the end for always having a smile on his face and for enjoying life with a ready laugh. He also loved seeing and spending time with his children, grandchildren, and his great grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 7-9 pm on Friday, August 2nd, 2024, at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home on 1701 E. Millbrook Road. The service will be held on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024, 11:00 am at Imago Dei Church, 9200 Strickland Road (former location of North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene). Interment will follow at Brier Creek Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Meals on Wheels of Wake County or to the non-profit of your choice in his name.
DONS
Meals on Wheels of Wake County1001 Blair Drive, Suite 100, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
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