Carroll Harless, 86, of Iowa Falls, passed away on Monday, April 14, 2025 at the Hansen Family Hospital in Iowa Falls. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. on Monday, April 21, 2025, at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Iowa Falls. Visitation will be an hour before the service. A private family burial will take place in Northlawn Memory Gardens in Iowa Falls. Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Surls Funeral Home in Iowa Falls.
Carroll Harless was born on a farm near Union, Iowa, to Mary Wilhelmina Christina Massow and Gayle Lyle Harless. He attended country schools in Hardin County and graduated from Iowa Falls High School in 1956. He continued his education at Ellsworth College and Iowa State University—majoring in Agricultural Education –receiving a Bachelor’s degree and later his Masters in 1966. His secondary teaching career spanned 13 years; then, he worked at the Farmers’ Cooperative Elevator prior to assuming his father’s Iowa Falls farming operation. He was dedicated to the environment and worked to protect the soil. Carroll enjoyed his father’s extra help on the farm–especially at lambing and shearing times.
Carroll was also a devout Christian, having received instruction in the Christian Faith at Immanuel Lutheran Church, where he was baptized and confirmed in 1954. He remained a faithful member of Immanuel until his death.
In January of 1984, the “bachelor” Carroll met Jan, a business teacher at Dike, on a blind date. He gained a cherished companion when they married on August 12, 1984; he aided her commute to Dike and often helped at the school over the next 20 years. Upon their retirements in 2003, Carroll and Jan moved to Iowa Falls where Carroll kept a “perfect” yard, walked their beloved dog, and aided Jan as she taught/worked part-time at Ellsworth College.
Carroll traveled throughout the United States and took hundreds of photos in his yearly two-week vacation from teaching. During retirement, Carroll and Jan enjoyed large tours to the east and west coast, Hawaii, and Canada.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Gayle and Mary Harless, sister and brother-in-law Betty and Harold Harkema, and sister-in-law LeeAnn Harless. Survivors include: his wife, Jan, brother, Darrell Harless (LeeAnn, deceased), sister Margaret Ritland (Gene), many nieces and nephews, and his beloved dog, Lucy.
Carroll Harless will be fondly remembered for his love of family and as a kind and caring man.
surls.com