Harlow "Doc" Kerl

PICKEREL LAKE– Harlow Kerl 88 of Roslyn and formerly of Pickerel Lake and Aberdeen passed away peacefully Sunday March 25, 2018 at Strand Kjorsvig Living Center in Roslyn. A memorial service will be 10:30 A.M. Saturday April 14, 2018 at United Methodist Church in Webster. Rev. Ken Ballard will officiate. A time of fellowship will follow the service in the lower level of the church. Fiksdal Funeral Service of Webster is in charge of the arrangements.Fiksdalfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers the family would like memorials sent to Shrine Children’s Hospital c/o Yelduz Shrine Mosque, 802 S. Main St., Aberdeen, SD 57401. Harlow was born on August 8, 1929 in Aberdeen, SD to Merritt Ernest Kerl and Gwendolyn Fannie (Hardin) Kerl. He grew up in Aberdeen and graduated from Aberdeen Central High School in 1947. After high school, Harlow met Lucille “Lucy” Ada Honey and began his education at National College of Chiropractic in Chicago. Harlow and Lucy were married on July 9, 1950 in Groton, SD and moved together to Chicago. Harlow received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 1953, and they moved back to Aberdeen where they began raising their family. Harlow and Lucy were blessed with four children, Brenda, Brian, Kevin, and Jamie. Harlow began in chiropractic practice with his father and later established his own practice when his father retired. He was named Chiropractor of the Year, and he was also very active in the Freemasons, the Shrine and was Past Potentate of the Shrine. When Harlow was a boy, his father built a cabin on Pickerel Lake, and for the remainder of his life it was his favorite place to be. He took his family to “the lake” every weekend possible, and he and Lucy traveled to Pickerel Lake year around after the children left home. Harlow retired in December, 1996 after 43 years in practice. Harlow and Lucy then moved to their home on Pickerel Lake where they enjoyed their many friends and frequent visits from their children and grandchildren. Lucy died April 1, 2012. Harlow “Doc” had an exceptional talent for entertaining a crowd telling jokes--one right after another. He loved making people laugh, from grandchildren to old friends, and he could entertain a crowd effortlessly for hours. He poured his heart and soul into his family and Pickerel Lake memories have been a priceless gift: fishing with his children and grandchildren with bobbers and worms, trolling in the boat with his sons before the sun came up or long after the sun went down, always in an endless search for “Walter”; cleaning fish at the table with newspapers spread and showing the children all the organs inside the fish; skiing and wakeboarding and long fast boat rides, letting the little ones drive the boat; going out for family dinners and parties and always sneaking away to pay the whole tab. Harlow always made sure everyone was having not just a good time, but an fabulous time. He loved with everything he had. Harlow was a member of the Methodist Church and made sure his children got to Sunday school even when it was 40 below zero and the car would barely start. He freely talked about God and shared his faith intimately. Harlow wrote many beautiful prayers over his lifetime, which he kept safely in a box for his children to discover. Celebrating his life are his children, Brenda (Jess) Goodwin of Pocatello, Idaho, Brian (Sandy) Kerl of Bonner Springs, Kansas, Jamie (Jane) Kerl of Lincoln, Nebraska, daughter-in-law, Tammy Kerl of Sioux Falls, 6 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and a sister-in-law, Geraldine Bowles, of Salem, Oregon. Preceding him in death were his parents, his wife, Lucille Kerl, his son, Kevin Kerl, and his grandson, Andrew Goodwin.