Harry Bayley, well known Benkelman merchant and community booster, passed away suddenly at his home in Benkelman on Thursday morning after a brief illness. Death came at 5:30 a.m., of a heart attack. He was 76 years of age.

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon at the Methodist Church with the Rev. Walter Rossbach, pastor of the Lutheran church officiating. Mrs. Dale Bauer was the organist and the singers were Harry Ough, John Baer, Norman Huber and Ross D. Durliner, Jr. Casket bearers were Evan Moses, Max Earnest, Fred Scott, Boyd Stroup, George Robertson and Frank Weiss. Honorary pallbearers were Herman J. Borchert, Dr. G. H. Lorenzen, Ralph Stroup, Lee Hamilton, Dr. J. C. Ough, E. F. Ham and Tom Anderson. Interment was in the Benkelman cemetery. The services were under the direction of the Laughlin Funeral Home.

Mr. Bayley’s demise came as a great shock to the community, for altho he had been ill in the past it appeared that he was now enjoying comparatively good health. His demise followed shortly after the attack on Thursday morning.

Since his arrival in Benkelman with his wife, Grace, in 1935, Harry Bayley has exhibited and practiced a policy of doing whatever he could to make Benkelman a better place in which to live. He and Mrs. Bayley had purchased a hardware business and succeeded in developing the enterprise into one of the outstanding firms of its kind in the area.

Harry Bayley was one of the businessmen who revived the languishing Benkelman Chamber of Commerce by establishing the Tuesday noon luncheon plan at the Van Hotel, a tradition that has continued for over 20 years. He was a member of the City Council when such forward looking projects as the purchase of the property for the city municipal building was made. He worked hard for the development and improvement of the light and power plant and for the improvement of the water and gas services. He was a friend of the Benkelman Volunteer Fire Department and championed their causes on many occasions. In his public service he was always ready and willing to go along with important community projects but nevertheless rendered important conservative restraints which strengthened the forces of good government.

Altho the citizenry saw fit to specialize Harry’s community service in the field of municipal affairs he was also active and forceful in school affairs when such important issues such as the new high school building were to be considered. Mr. Bayley took his place with those who saw the need for the new building and used all his influence in behalf of the project. Altho the Bayleys had no children of their own Harry was very sensitive about the opportunities for young people and was always ready to do his part for the betterment of their families.

In 1948 Mr. Bayley sold the hardware to his nephew, Melvin Kestler, and his partner, John S. Jones, and retired from business life for a short time, later to open the Bayley Sporting Goods store which not only provided a fine stock of sporting goods but also a place for sportsmen to exchange stories of their experiences and to enjoy the fellowship of fishermen and hunters. Mr. Bayley was engaged in the operation of the business until the time of his demise.

Thomas Henry Bayley, better known as Harry, was born in Grinnell, Iowa, March 27, 1883. There he attended grade and high school. He was attracted to the retail business field as a young man and worked in a general store in Farnam, Nebraska, later going into the hardware business for himself. His interest in the hardware field lead to his employment by Paxton & Gallagher, a wholesale hardware firm, as a salesman operating out of Omaha.

In 1935 he decided to retire from the road and purchased a hardware store in Benkelman which he operated until his retirement in 1948. At that time he opened and continued in the operation of a sporting goods store until his demise, on Thursday morning, July 16, 1959, at 5:30 o’clock when he suffered a sudden heart attack.

He is survived by his wife, Grace, and a sister, Nettie D. Bayley of Grinnell, Iowa, a host of relatives and friends.

Out-of-town relatives who attended the funeral service on Saturday were: Nettie D. Bayley and Iona Halterman, of Grinnell, Iowa; Mrs. J. H. Lincoln and granddaughter, Kathleen, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Mr. and Mrs. Lou Kestler of Springfield, Nebraska; Mr. and Mrs. Hap Bruggerman and family of Grand Island, Nebraska, and Mrs. Glen Kestler of Meade, Kansas. Out-of-town friends attending the service were Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Thomas of Trenton, and R. H. Palmer of Ogallala, Nebraska.

The Benkelman Post and News-Chronicle, 66(16):1 Thursday, July 23, 1959