Harland I. Safley, 84

Served as a Japanese Interpretor in WW II

Harland I. Safley, 84, of Blair, died Saturday, May 7, 2011. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 11 at First United Methodist Church. Interment will be in the Blair Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, with family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m. at Campbell-Aman Funeral Home.

Harland I. Safley was born Jan. 26, 1927, in Loveland, Colo., to Virgil and Edna (Florea) Ingram of Hopkins, Mo. His father died when he was 1 1/2 years old and he was adopted by Mervin Safeley when he was 7 years old.

One month before he graduated from high school, he was drafted into the U. S. Army during World War II. He served as a Japanese interpreter during his tour of duty. He attended college for two years in Kansas City, Mo.

Mr. Safeley was a salesman and contractor most of his life. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church for 36 years.

He enjoyed dancing, going to music festivals and spending winters in Sun City, Ariz.

He was blessed with four children from a first marriage. On June 30, 1975, he married Darlene Wulf of Blair at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa.

Their children are Synthia and Lloyd Haag of St. Joseph, Mo., Winifred and Rego Jones of Maryville, Mo., son, Maurice Lee and Margaret Safley of St. Joseph, Mo., and Vonda Safeley (now deceased); his wife's sons, Reg Wulf of Blair, Monte and Pam Wulf of Blair; 16 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Memorials may be directed to the family or First United Methodist Church.

~~~Obituary courtesy of Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska~~~

FindaGrave # 118189321