Harold G. Minge, age 71, passed away unexpectedly of a massive heart attack on Sunday, June 23, 2019 with his wife by his side at his favorite place on earth, his ranch in Rural Gering. Graveside services will be held at Fairview Cemetery on Friday June 28, 2019 at 10:00 AM with Pastor Giles Armstrong officiating. There will be a private family viewing followed by a public viewing from 4:00 – 7:00 PM on Thursday June 27th at Dugan Kramer Funeral Home in Scottsbluff. In lieu of flowers, Memorials may be given to The Legacy of the Plains Museum. Online condolences may be left at www.dugankramer.com.
Harold was born on August 20, 1947 to Walter and Pauline (Kuxhaus) Minge. He graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1965 and WNCC in 1967.
Harold married his best friend and the love of his life Barb Takuskion December 29, 1972. Their first date included a drive-in movie and Barb proceeding to eat all of his cheese popcorn. Thankfully that didn’t deter him from asking her to marry him.
1977-1978 Harold and Barb owned and operated Arny’s Dairy Barin Gering. Harold worked construction most of his life and was a partner in Ma’s Construction with Steve Andrews. He started Minge Construction in the 1980’s which included concrete work and steel erection, putting up grain bins and steel buildings throughout the valley; which he still owned and operated at his time of death.
In 1994, Harold and Barb bought a ranch south of Gering which was fondly called Minge Ranch, Harold loved the land and built up an impressive herd of long horns. In 2011, he donated several long horns to The Legacy of the Plains Museum, where they can still be seen today. Minge Ranch was Harold’s piece of heaven on Earth.
Harold was a true animal lover, building wood duck boxes at their property on Lake Minatare and his ranch was a designated safe haven for the wildlife that roamed there. His love of animals was also shown in the care he took of his bulldogs over the years, letting them ride around with him and buying them cheeseburgers at McDonald’s.
Harold was an avid Husker fan but during basketball season you would find him and Barb at WNCC watching both the women’s and men’s Cougar basketball teams and often travelling out of town to their away games. They were dorm parents on several occasions for the Cougar women’s basketball team and were season ticket holders for over 30 years. Harold enjoyed watching all sports from professional to little league and occasionally coached his nieces in softball.
Harold was an amazing husband and friend to many. He had numerous nieces and nephews whom he loved having around. They knew spending a day with Uncle Harold was going to be a good day and that carried on to the next generation of nieces and nephews. Their adventures included ATV rides, boating, learning to water ski, letting his 11 year old niece drive him to Dairy Queen for a treat and many more adventures that their parents still do not know about. He loved them all and they loved him back. Once he was a little older and was ready for grandkids he requested that his youngest niece call him Grampa. To this day that is what she calls him. As the family grew older and larger Harold and Barb decided to buy a house at Lake Minatare to keep the family close. Many days were and are currently spent boating, swimming, tubing, sleepovers, Husker Games and nights by a fire making smores.
Harold was loved and will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Harold is survived by his wife Barbara, brothers Don (Janan) Minge of Mound, MN, Ray (Shirlene) Minge of Riverton, WY, Dale (Connie) Minge of Gering, NE, sisters Darlene Ikeya of Sunnyvale, CA, June (Larry) Lacy of Gering, Ne, Brothers-in-Law John (Patricia) Takuski of Henry, NE, Gary (Camille) Takuski of Mitchell, NE, Sisters-in-Law Teri Miller of Ashland, NE, Mary Ann Badel of Gering, NE, Diana (Gary) Goodvin of Alliance, NE, numerous nieces and nephews, many close friends and his Bulldog buddy, Hazel.
Harold was proceeded in death by his parents, brothers-in law Gary Ikeya and Rich Miller, nieces Kellie Jo Takuski, Angel Lynn Takuski and nephew Trey Lacy.
