James E. Harkendorff

JAMES E. HARKENDORFF Funeral services for James E. Harkendorff, a longtime resident of Cortez, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 26 at Rock Springs Community Church. Interment will follow at Cortez Cemetery. Visitation and viewing has been set from 9:15 to 9:45 a.m. before the services. Jim was born March 16, 1948 in Falls City, Neb. to Erwin and Dorothy (Woerner) Harkendorff and was their only child. His mother died when he was eight years old, and his father married Lucille (Daniels) Harkendorff, all who preceded him in death. Jim was a graduate of the University of Nebraska with a degree in civil engineering and moved to Durango to work for the Bureau of Reclamation where he helped design the McPhee dam and project. In Durango, he met Lavon (Crowley) Harkendorff, and they were married in 1975. They moved to Cortez in 1978 to work on the McPhee Project, where they have lived ever since and they have two daughters, Carli and Haley. After retirement, Jim started teaching a summer youth tennis program and eventually became the coach for the high school boys and girls tennis teams. Many of the students he had taught at a young age continue to take lessons and play high school tennis. These students were very special to him. When Jim accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life in 1979, he was completely changed. He has said to many people that knowing Jesus is the most important thing in life. Because he loved kids, he taught children�s church for over 20 years. He thought that church should be fun for kids and that they were able to understand the Word of God. Jim loved the Four Corners area and liked to hike and camp in the mountains with his family and dirt bike in the rock country of Utah with his daughters and the Crowley family. Jim is survived by his wife, Lavon; and daughters, Carli of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Haley of Tulsa, Okla. A memorial fund for the Harkendorff Tennis Bleachers has been set up at First National Bank or donations can be made to Hospice of Montezuma.