Harold Jeffery Austin, age 68 years of W. Harrison, IN was born on Groundhog Day, February 2, 1942 to Bertman Austin and Ursula McAninch Austin in Cincinnati, Ohio. Harold passed away Sunday, December 12, 2010 in Harrison, OH. Jeff, as he was called, was a person that for as long as he could remember, wanted to know God and promised himself that as soon as he married he would get serious about getting to know God better, a promise he was determined to keep. Always a good-looking lad, he was often accused of being brother to Ricky Nelson. Now, for some of you younger ones, Ricky was youngest son to the TV family Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, and a very talented young musician. Anyway, Harold loved to tease and had a sort of dry-humor approach to his method of teasing, so much so that some thought he was being serious and even insulting (those who didn't know him that is). Once you could figure him out, you could really enjoy his antics. Harold married his wife, Peggy Carpenter, on July 22nd, 1967 and they soon began a nice-sized family of beautiful children. The first-born, Stephen Jeffery, was a beautiful little boy who was the apple of Daddy's eye. But little Stephen soon wanted a little sister, and in Harold's mind, this should be accommodated. Soon there was a little sister, then another, and another, and another. After sister number 4, little Stephen decided he had had enough, and candidly asked his Mommy: "Do we have do bring this one home from the hospital, we have enough girls already." Harold's quest to find out about God and build a relationship with him came to a beautiful reality and he and his wife were baptized as Jehovahs Witnesses on December 26, 1970. He almost made it to his 40 year anniversary. His happiest moments were when he was trying to help others find that same relationship with God that he had found. He loved this knowledge and spent many hours trying to share it with others. It was his most favorite thing and he became quite good in his teaching skills. Other things he liked to do was spend time with his kids, his pride and joy always. Each one of them was special to his wife and him and each had a special place in their hearts. The firstborn, Stephen, is very smart and loves to read and learn about just about everything, just like his Dad. One summer it was especially blistering hot and that year we had no car for the wife and kids to get out and enjoy summer activities, so since they were stuck at home with no library books, what else could a boy do? He sat down by the encyclopedias, and starting with Volume A, he began to read. We're not sure if he finished the entire set before the summer was over, but he enjoyed this activity very much. The second, Cassandra, was his very first little girl, and you fathers know how special that is to a Dad. She is beautiful inside and out and, like big brother, has remained faithful to Jehovah, the God of her father, her whole life. She was the first of what became known as the "Austin Babes", while Daddy became known as the "Austin Bear" because he spent a great deal of time trying to keep the boys at bay, and at times wasn't as polite about it as he could have been. The third, Jennifer, the one who has had to carry the burdon of the middle child, has always been so ready to do whatever it took to keep her Mom and Dad smiling. Once, after learning the Bible's council on doing whatever you can to accommodate the needs of others, she observed her parents while they were gardening in the heat of the sun. She approached her father and asked what she could do to help. Too young to work with the hoe, he said "a glass of water might be nice". So, water they got, glass after glass, after glass. They took each and every glass and tried to drink it down, because she had so completely gotten the point about helping others. The fourth, little Jessica, was dubbed by our Doctor as the Miracle Baby, since we almost lost her at birth, and that incident gave both parents a reality check as to just how special each and every one of their children are and how precious life really is. She has always been tender and compassionate and loving. Everyone who knows her loves her. The fifth, though last, is definitely not the least. She's our little take-charge kind of kid who has a passion for taking care of Mom and Dad. Down to business and efficient at all times, she is our little Organizer. As the last child, the one we weren't sure we had the strength and stamina to parent, a good many prayers went up to Jehovah to help us raise just one more because on our own strength we weren't sure we could. When we related the naming of this one to a friend, her name being Melissa Hope, our friend responded "Melissa and we Hope there are no more". And that's how it worked out- there were no more -- and how could there be one to top what we already had. Five of the most wonderful children any parents could ever ask for. But, that wasn't the only family he cherished. Having already lost half his siblings to death, he became more and more attached to those remaining. His oldest surviving brother, Russell, always reminded him of Robert Duvall and we loved watching any movies Mr. Duvall was in because we could see Russell's mannerisms and personality show through Mr. Duvall's characters. Russell is a wonderful story-teller, and the whole family loves to sit around and listen to his stories. His sister, Dorothy, is a dear, gentle lady who often reminded him of what he could remember of his own mom, and he cherished time with her. She is one of those beautiful human beings who just loves and accepts you for who you are, no strings attached, and you can't help but love her. And his baby brother, David, is just a really likeable kind of guy who really loved his big brother and was likewise loved by him. We think it might be likened to a mutual admiration society. As the youngest of the seven original children, he had a very special spot in Harold's heart and after his time in the service Harold felt a huge responsibility to help his aging dad keep this youngest sibling in line. Harold will also be missed by his grandchildren Austin Glaser, Ava Glaser, Makayla Cornn, Kylee Rumple, Brylon Rumple & Denver Maness. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his siblings Addis (Fern) Austin, Eugene (Freda) Austin and Delores (Angelo) Florimonte. Besides God and family, Jeff had many other interests. Once he read about how to make cottage cheese, and before you know it, our kitchen turned into a cottage cheese factory. But, like so many things, once he figured out how it was done, he lost interest and moved on to other things. Learning was a big hobby - learning about anything and everything. He loved camping and hiking with his kids, learning about trees, grasses, plants, planets, apples -- you name it. He liked archery, God's beautiful earth, animals, birds, and genealogy. He loved cameras, and painting. He became quite good with oil paint and we have some beautiful paintings to prove it. Not to be forgotten are the many friendships that we have developed over the years of association with Johovah's people. Harold loved and cherished each and every one of you and never took for granted the priviledge of serving the congregations needs. We just wanted you all to know that he always tried to put your interest before his own. Much love and thanks to all of you. He was a wonderful father, husband and granddad. He will be missed more than words can ever say and we can't wait to see him again when the resurrection restores him to life on a beautiful paradise earth just like God promised his obedient servants in Revelation 21:4. "And God will wipe every tear from their eye, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away". A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 18, 2010 at the Kingdom Hall of Johovah's Witnesses in Dover, IN on Route 1 at Stonegate Drive at 3:00pm, visitation starting at 2:00pm.