Harryet Condo (Miller) Hand
Marriages
John Hand - June 23, 1935
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 8A Obit - March 30, 2011
Harryet died peacefully, at the
age of 97 (almost 98) in her sleep
of natural causes with her daughter,
Cynthia, by her side and after
recent visits by all her children.
Harryet was the youngest of five
daughters born to Florence and
Harry Miller, an attorney in
Nokomis, Illinois. They were a
close family and stayed in touch
all their lives. She graduated from
Nokomis High School and went
on to major in elementary education,
at the University of Illinois
(then called Illinois Teacher Collage).
After graduating she taught
elementary school near Nokomis
and became engaged to a handsome
ambitious young man
named John Hand, her high
school sweetheart. They married a
few years later on June, 23 1935
at the beautiful Miller home in a
quiet ceremony and spent their honeymoon traveling by train to Detroit
to begin their life together. They settled in River Rouge, Michigan,
near Detroit, where John was a steelworker and later a supervisor
in the steel mill. Their marriage lasted over 70 years and until
John's death in 2005.
She and John had four children within seven and one half years
which delighted them both and set her course for the future. She was
extremely kind, full of energy and thrived on helping others, hosting
countless little neighborhood parties with children and helping
with decades of school events. Later on she turned their home into a
prime gathering spot for her teens and all their friends. She loved
people and being surrounded by activity and children of any age.
She was a strong advocate for education and for "life" and extremely
compassionate to anyone in need. It was apparent to any
who knew Harryet she was delighted in her career of being a homemaker,
mother and wife and her four children remained devoted to
her until her death.
She was very active at the Epworth Methodist church in River
Rouge, teaching Sunday school, organizing summer school
programs and even sold greeting cards for many years in order to
fund educational programs and a church library at her church. After
her own children were older she became the Superintendant of
Education there for many years. Harryet held many offices in the
River Rouge Women's Club as well as that of president and often
spoke publicly. Besides being an educator, Harryet was a very
proper and stylish lady with a flair for fashion and decorating who
could create beautiful little outfits out of absolutely nothing. She
was a skilled seamstress, an excellent pastry cook, who enjoyed
playing the piano, playing Scrabble, studying the stock market and
reading the Wall Street Journal.
For many years while her family was young she organized annual
summer vacations "Up North" in Michigan, which included living in
a log cabin on a lake for a few weeks, swimming, fishing and many
woodsy adventures. As the family grew older the gatherings came to
include spouses, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, friends and a herd of
pets. The more the merrier! Harryet and her husband also came to
LOVE Florida and spent many winters there. She enjoyed the ocean
and the warm beach and he enjoyed the green golf courses. They
also loved the new found peace and quiet, and returned each spring
to their long time home renewed and suntanned.
After her husband, John passed away, Harryet moved to beautiful
Colorado to live with her daughter, Cynthia at her country home
near Grand Junction, Colorado. Family and friends visited often and
Harryet was surrounded by those she loved and who loved her.
She leaves behind her children, John S. Hand of Jackson,
Michigan; David C. Hand of Naples, Flordia; Cynthia M.
Hand-Treece of Fruita, Colorado and Marilynn L. Hoepf of
Knightstown, Indiana, as well as three grandchildren, Andrew,
Matthew, and Rebbecca and two great grandchildren, Dalton and
Carley Ann.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made in
Harryet's name to the Roice Hurst Humane Society or St. Jude’s
Childrens Hospital.
A visitation for family and friends in the Grand Junction area will
be held Wednesday, March 31, 2011 at Martin Mortuary from 2 -
4:30 p.m. A funeral service will be held at a later date in River
Rouge, where she will be laid to rest by her husband.
Funeral arrangements by Girrbach-Krasun Funeral Home.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5 B Notice - March 29, 2011
Harryet Hand, 97, Fruita,
died March 27, 2011, at her
home.
Visitation will be from 2 to
4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Martin
Mortuary.
Services will be at a later date
in Michigan.
Survivors include two sons,
John S. of Jackson, Mich., and
David C. of Naples, Fla.; two
daughters, Cynthia M. Hand-
Treece of Fruita and Marilyn
L. Hoepf of Knights Town, Ind.;
three grandchildren; and two
great-grandchildren.
