August 15, 1929 – August 1, 2022
Harrell Boedeker, a former mayor of Malta Bend and a Korean War veteran, died Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, at The Arbors at Westport Estates in Marshall, where he had lived for nearly a year. He was 92.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, at First Christian Church in Marshall, followed by burial with military rites at Ridge Park Cemetery. Friends may pay respects from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to American Legion Post 558 for the Harrell and Marie Boedeker Scholarship Fund in care of Campbell-Lewis. Friends may sign the online register book at www.campbell-lewis.com.
Harrell was born on Aug. 15, 1929, in Higginsville to Fred and Freda Boedeker. He was a 1947 graduate of Malta Bend High School, where he was a gifted basketball player.
He was the mayor of Malta Bend from 1996 to 2008 as well as an alderman in the town where he lived 62 years. Harrell, who was known for his dry wit, was a familiar presence walking around the town he loved. He managed Meyer Building Supply in Malta Bend from 1959 to 1972, when he bought the lumber yard and owned it for more than two decades.
He served in the Army and was stationed in Korea during the Korean War. He was the last living founding member of American Legion Post 558, a commander of the post from 1960 to 1962 and a member of the legion’s National Executive Committee for four years.
He was also a member of the Marshall VFW Post and the First Christian Church, where his wife, Marie, was music director for 53 years. They married in 1956, and she was the music teacher at Malta Bend High School for 35 years. He cared for her the last seven years of her life as she battled Alzheimer’s, and she preceded him in death in 2013.
Harrell was a leader of the volunteer fire department in Malta Bend for many years. He was also preceded in death by a son, William Timothy “Tim” Boedeker, who was a Marshall firefighter for 32 years.
Harrell lived at Hartland for three years before moving to The Arbors. The family thanks the caring staffs of Hartland, The Arbors and Good Shepherd Hospice.
He is survived by a son, Hal Boedeker, of Orlando, Fla.; four brothers, John (Ann) Boedeker, Jerome (Patsy) Boedeker and Jim (Helen) Boedeker of Marshall and Wayne Boedeker of Tulsa, Okla.; and many nieces and nephews, including Christie Boedeker and Julie (Joe) Boedeker Miller of Marshall.
Julie wrote: “I always thought Uncle Harrell was magic. He would slyly stick out his teeth at me when I was young. I was so amazed! I remember at a Boedeker Christmas at Harrell & Marie’s someone gave me a life-size doll. Uncle Harrell grabbed her and danced around with her!”
