Harold Dean Day was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1930, in Austin, Missouri, the 6th child of Melvin Cyrus Day and Edna Orilla Lancaster Day. Upon arrival, he was greeted by older sisters, Marie, Goldie, and Anna May, and big brothers, Aubrey and Bobby. Like so many others who made their way farming, Harold had a big family, and before too long, found himself in charge of his baby sisters, Peggy and Joy; as well as, his little brother, Charlie.

On that November day, the newspaper in Cass County told us about the movie showing at the Main Street Theatre in Pleasant Hill- The Virginian, with Gary Cooper. A lady could get a fine fur collared coat for $19.95 at Mallon's Sample Store, and her fella could buy a Standard Sport Coupe WITH a rumble seat, for $650, down at Grey Brothers Chevrolet.

Well. Maybe you could have. Harold would never have owned a Chevrolet.

Harold grew up on a rural Missouri farm during the Depression. Family meant survival, and making it work, no matter what. The stories he would tell about cotton farms, mowing Grandma Day's lawn, and chasing after Charlie were always entertaining. Well, usually it was Goldie chasing after both of them, but they had something special, those Day kids. They had each other.

In 1951, Harold served in the United States Army during the Korean War. When he returned, the first of 3 great loves of his life fell in love with the man one of his photos says made her giggle and love being alive. They married in 1958 and their son, Walter Brent, was born in 1960. Always anxious to keep up with her own brother, Jack, Suzanne wanted another child very badly, but after she and Harold endured the loss of a child in 1965, they finally adopted Anissa Sue in 1970. Shortly after, they bought a farm, and life was well on the way to what they had dreamed. Then in April 1973, tragedy struck, and Suzanne unexpectedly passed shortly before Easter. In shock, Harold searched for the whys and mourned her loss deeply, but he had a new farm and children, so he did as he had his whole life, and he made it work. He proved his Love and Dedication to his children thoroughly by asking his mother-in-law to move to the farm to help. Come on now…let's be honest, how many of y'all would do the same, so you could do what had to be done to keep your dream alive?

Well, life moves forward, and children grow up, and Harold then met his best friend, love, travel enthusiast, and dance partner of more than 30 years, Donna Louise Easley Day. Donna brought 4 grown-up children into their relationship - Lyle, Becky, Steve, and Jeff Osburn, and his family became hers, and hers became his. They loved grandbabies, had pool parties, and traveled by RV and Motorcycle, everywhere from Alaska to Hawaii to Florida to Texas and everywhere in between, always with their cowboy boots packed and ready.

Well, life moves forward, and children get gray hairs, and grandbabies have babies, and illness creeps in. In 2010, Harold lost his second great love of his life. For a while, his daughter thought he might not be able to go on. She recalls one afternoon, visiting him, and all he had in the refrigerator were items for a turkey sandwich. "Well," he said, "I guess I never much took care of myself." That may have been true, but only because he was busy making it work so others could join him in his dance.

And of course, a dancer is gonna dance. It was because of dancing that Harold met the third love of his life, Dee Miller Hughes. If anyone loved dancing as much as Harold, it was Dee, and they danced right into one another's hearts. Dee tells the story of their trip to Texas, and Harold jokingly asking "Well, I wonder where I should live when we get back home?" The answer, of course, was with Dee. Once again, his family became hers, and hers became his. And on August 9, before Harold moved to his son Brent's in Florida, after he'd traveled to Lenexa to watch his grandson bowl in the Special Olympics, every one of those children still living - Walter Brent Day, Anissa Sue Day, Lyle Osburn, Becky Darling, Jeff Osburn, Genia Miller, Monica Carter, and Chris Hutchison - along with their children and children's children - joined in a beautiful send off for Harold. It was a beautiful day, and he knew he was loved. The move was quick, but as Harold had taught all of us, we made it work.

And oh, how he will be missed.

Throughout his life, Harold loved being in nature. He loved hunting, fishing, being on the lake, and just milling around outdoors. He loved old school country music, cowboy boots and bolo ties that he made, and he had extremely strong opinions about what should or should not be for dinner. He loved whittling, and made some beautiful pieces. He'll argue he was much better than Gene, but after all, it wasn't a race. It was what he loved to do. What Harold loved more than anything was just the experience of being alive.

Well, life moves on, and he fought for life… but we all get tired, and after 94 years, 10 months, and 3 days, Harold was tired. Suzanne and Donna, Joy, Charlie, Peggy, Goldie, Bobby, Anna May, Aubrey and Marie, have been holding a spot at their table a very long time, and he finally closed his eyes, and took his rest. What Harold would want for those of us left to miss him is just to LIVE.

Every moment.
Every breath.
Every heart beat…
Dance like no one is watching.

Amen.

His family asks you to join them at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, MO, for a memorial service on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 2:00 PM, with visitation beginning at 1:00 PM. Inurnment will follow at Crescent Hill Cemetery in Adrian, MO. As the grandfather of children challenged by Autism and related disorders, please make any donations to either Autism Speaks (https://www.autismspeaks.org), or locally to Kansas Special Olympics (https://support.specialolympics.org); or you may also choose to donate to your local hospice association in his name.