Harold Eby Witwer

Harold Eby Witwer, 83, died Tuesday, November 15, at Arden Courts in Harrisburg, after a lengthy illness. He was born June 10, 1928, the second child and first son of Charles K. and Martha G. (McQuate) Witwer. Harold lived virtually all of his life in Warwick Township. He was raised on a farm in Rothsville until 1944 when his family moved to Lititz. He graduated from Lititz High School in 1946. He began working for Gulf Oil soon after the turnpike opened. As an employee of the Operations Department, it was his job to keep the stations running. Later, he worked out of Gulf's office in Philadelphia as a field engineer overseeing Gulf's construction projects in the Eastern Region. Finally, he returned to the turnpike to supervise Gulf operations, from which he retired in 1983. He was a member of Jerusalem Lutheran Church, Rothsville, where he had served on the church council and the property committee, and for which he had crafted, in his woodshop, various ceremonial and decorative objects. He was also a long-standing member of the Young Men's Business League, Lititz. He was married January 21, 1950, to Doris Amelia Leeking, who survives. Also surviving is a daughter, Denise Witwer Lahr, Hummelstown, with whom he lived the last few years, and her husband, Dr. Joseph W. Lahr, both formerly of Lititz. He leaves a brother, Lester Eugene Witwer, of British Columbia, and three adoring grandchildren: Hana and Merav, of New York City, and Roni, of Pittsburgh. He was predeceased by two sisters: Mabel Alberta Witwer Obetz and Emma Jane Witwer. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend Harold's funeral service at the Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church 36 Church Street, Rothsville (Lititz) PA on Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 10:00 AM with the Reverend David A.B. Rike officiating. Interment is in the adjoining church cemetery. There will be a viewing at the church on Saturday morning from 9:00 AM until the time of the service. If you wish to honor Harold's memory, please visit http://www.lbda.org to learn about Lewy Body Dementia, and while you are there, feel free to click the tab "Ways to Give" and make a donation.