Harold Emmert Colfack, age 92, of Bloomfield, NM, and formerly of the Atkinson area, walked into his Lord and Savior's arms on Monday, May 16, 2016, at his home near Bloomfield, NM.

His funeral service will be 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at Biglin's Mortuary in O'Neill. Pastor Steve Randolph will officiate.

Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Atkinson.

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at Biglin's Mortuary.

Harold Emmert Colfack, son of Nels and Ellen (Sorensen) Colfack was born October 11, 1923, at Dustin, NE, the eighth of nine children. His early years were spent helping his father on the farm where he learned to hunt, fish and trap, skills he later passed on to his sons.

On April 20, 1947 he was united in marriage to his beautiful bride, Viola Mae Keithley, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Atkinson, NE. Four sons and three daughters were born to this union.

Following a stint in the service, Harold returned to Nebraska where he and Viola helped his parents on the farm. Later, they moved to Sedro-Woolley, Washington where he worked for a saw mill and the railroad. The little cabin he built for their home is still standing. He attended Bellingham College where he received his barbering degree, but returned to Nebraska upon becoming very seriously ill. He worked for the Nebraska Dept. of Roads and other jobs in the O'Neill area, then moved to Pierre, SD to help build the Oahe Dam. The family returned to Nebraska and lived in the Newport area about 5 years, where Harold worked in the hayfields and, often trucked hay to locations in Nebraska and into Wyoming. He received his Nebraska license and began barbering in Newport.

He was an avid gardener and passed those skills on to several family members. It was during their time at Newport, that Harold began his walk with the Lord Jesus Christ; he was baptized at Camp Witness near Long Pine, NE. Times were hard and he worked very hard and long hours providing for his family, and though he never had much for material possessions, the Lord was faithful and Harold was committed to the spiritual well-being of his family. In the evenings, he would gather the family together for "family altar", a time of reading the bible, singing hymns and prayer time, and each Sunday, the family would travel to Atkinson from their home in Newport for fellowship with other Christians. Harold and Viola took a step of faith and set out to find a new life for the family, moving to Sargent, NE and after working several odd jobs to get established in the community, he set up a barbershop there and at Arcadia. They later moved to Burwell where he continued barbering.

In their leisure, Harold and Viola enjoyed fishing, dancing and evening drives. In 1973 they moved to the 4-corners area of New Mexico. He worked with his brother-in-law in the mobile home business and eventually returned to barbering in that area. Harold had a passion for his music, he would often pick up his guitar to play and sing. He found music to be pleasurable and gained much solace from it. He and Viola traveled weekly to the Farmington nursing home where he shared his musical talents. The residents loved hearing him sing and strum his guitar.

We offer a special thanks to his son, Robert, for his servitude in taking care of our Dad in his twilight years. We all thank God for the gift of his life and the blessing of the time we got to spend with him.

Harold is survived by his wife of 69 years, Viola; children: Diana Colfack and spouse, Chris Fyanes, of Box Elder, SD, Marilyn Sorensen and husband, Dennis, of Catoosa, OK, Gene Colfack and wife, Judy, of Page, NE, Fred Colfack and wife, Rita, of Albuquerque, NM, Don Colfack and wife Candy of Thoreau, NM, Robert Colfack of Bloomfield, NM; 13 grandchildren; 28 great grandchildren & 1 great-great grandchild; his sister, Opal Wondercheck; Sister-in-Law, Rose Colfack, and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and siblings: Marie, Marentha, Albert, Thyra, Emil, Art, and Carl; one daughter: Donna Reineke and her husband, Gail; and 3 great-grandchildren.