Harvey G. Van Erem

Harvey G. Van Erem, 98, of Bismarck died July 24, 2020 at CHI St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck.  Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at the Church of St. Anne in Bismarck with the Rev. Wayne Sattler celebrating.  Burial will be at the ND Veterans Cemetery in Mandan, ND.  Military honors will be provided by the VFW Post 1326 of Bismarck.  Visitation will be from 5-8 PM Tuesday, July 28 at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck where a vigil/rosary will be held at 7 PM. 

Harvey George Van Erem was born July 10, 1922 at Jamestown, ND, the son of George A. and J. Kathryn (Braun) Van Erem.  He grew up on a farm near Buchanan, ND where he attended school and graduated from high school in 1940.  His interests included Boy Scouts, hunting, trapping, fishing, horseback riding, taxidermy, amateur radio, and building a lot of his own radio equipment.

Harvey joined the military on October 3, 1942. He was a Morse Code specialist with Detachment “K” of the 40^th Mobile Communications Squadron, which was assigned to the 354^th Fighter Group of the 9^th Air Force. This was known later as the “Pioneer Mustangs” as they were the first fighter group to fly P-51 Mustangs in Europe. Harvey’s detachment went ashore on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 (D-Day).  He was honorably discharged on December 9, 1945.

Harvey attended the State School of Science in Wahpeton, ND studying civilian radio.  Harvey  married Shirlee E. Sagaser on August 18, 1948 at St. James Catholic Church and made their home in Jamestown.

He was employed by radio station KSJB in Jamestown, ND as a broadcast engineer. As chief engineer, he planned and installed new equipment such as remote control, FM radio, and emergency power systems, made and supervised all repairs, and was called upon to solve problems for numerous smaller radio stations throughout ND and MN. Harvey was described by others in the industry as “a radio legend”. His employment with KSJB lasted more than 50 years. Harvey retired fully from engineering in 1999. He was a member of the Elks and the American Legion.

Harvey was dearly loved by his family and friends. He was a skillful storyteller of childhood adventures, especially life on the farm. He was a great conversationalist who could engage anyone in entertaining conversation, relate to anyone with quick wit and humor, and always had a ready “come-back” in commentary to whatever the subject was. He was entertaining to say the least in his interactions with people.
Harvey enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping, playing poker, spending time with other friends, and anything involved with the great outdoors.

Harvey is survived by his four children; Gregory (Roberta) Van Erem of Stillwater, MN, Alayne Van Erem of Shoreview, MN, Philip Van Erem of Jamestown, ND, and Kay Van Erem (Aanders Jackson) of Bismarck.  He is also survived by his nine grandchildren and their spouses; Saleh (Steven) Miller of DeSoto, KS, Karyn (Mark) Jara of Blaine, MN, Emily (Chris) Johnson of Roseville, MN, Molly Ruggles (Shane Novacek) of Arden Hills, MN, Jessica (Dave)Francis of Minot, ND, Elizabeth (Dustin) Lauby of Maple Grove, MN, Annie (Tyler) Schlecht of Wimbledon, ND, Kathryn (Nick) Holzer of Bismarck, ND, and Nathan (Jessica) Jackson of Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan; and seventeen great grandchildren, Calvin and Nolan Miller, Conner and Logan Jara, Lukas and Anneliese Johnson, Iver Novacek, Ella, Alayna, and Andrew Francis, Bodhi Lauby, Ruby and Pippa Schlect, Allison and Carter Holzer, and Julia and Aaron Jackson, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Shirlee in 2015, two younger brothers, Victor and Darrel, and great grandson Kyan Lauby.

To share memories of Harvey and sign the online guestbook, visit www.eastgatefuneral.com