John Henry Harstine, 85, went to be with the Lord on June 17, 2012. Born September 11, 1926 he was preceded in death by his parents, Frank Lansing and Mary Margaret (Cairns) Harstine, his brothers, Forrest, Carl, Emmett and Leonard, and a granddaughter Janice Caroline Harvey. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Ena Rae (Kingsbury) Harstine; five children, John Robert (Ellen) Harstine of Albuquerque, NM, Lillian R. Harstine, M.D. of Wichita, Ruth C. (Jim) Harvey of Broken Arrow, OK, James E. (Bev) Harstine of Wichita, and Stanley D. (Deb) Harstine, Ph.D. of Towanda; thirteen grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Laird Harstine of Baltic, OH and sister Marjorie Harstine of New Philadelphia, OH.
John graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1947 and began working in Tulsa, where he met Rae and they began their family. He lived in Barnsdall and later Pawhuska, before moving to El Dorado, Kan., in 1963 where he worked for the Skelly/Getty/Texaco refinery prior to his retirement in 1991. In 1997 he celebrated 50 years as a member of the American Chemical Society.
Along the way John was actively involved in the community. He was a Scoutmaster in both Oklahoma and El Dorado before becoming involved as a District Commissioner for the Flint Hills District of the Quivira Council, B.S.A. He was awarded the President’s Award in 1962 and the Silver Beaver Award in 1979 and was a Century Member of the Boy Scouts of America.
John was a Life Member of Kiwanis serving as Secretary of the El Dorado Bluestem Club for 25 years and as Lt. Governor, Kansas Sunflower Division in 1992-93. He was active while his health permitted with the Kansas Trails Council. A long time member of First Christian Church, El Dorado, John served as both a deacon and elder.
Services will be Sat., June 23 at 10:00 a.m. at Carlson Funeral Home with burial at 4 p.m. in Barnsdall.
The Bigheart Times is a weekly newspaper based out of Barnsdall, Okla. We cover the great Osage County, home to the Osage Nation, rural communities, and many cowboys and ranchers. As one of the largest and still growing publications in Osage County our goal is to provide fair and accurate information to the public as quickly as possible.
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