Harlan Eugene Den Beste

Harlan Den Beste, age 89 of Perry, passed away on Monday, January 10, 2022, at the Dallas County Hospital in Perry, IA. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Perry. Visitation will be on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m. with family present from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Carris Family Funeral Home & Cremation Care in Perry. Burial will be in the West Holman Township Cemetery at Sibley, IA on Friday, January 21, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to wear face coverings and practice social distancing while attending visitation and services. Memorials will be given to family for later designation and may be left at the Carris Family Funeral Home & Cremation Care. Harlan E. Den Beste was born in the small town of Sibley, IA, the son of Henry Gerrit and Margaret Van Der Wilt Den Beste. During his formative years he went to Sibley School System and graduated in 1950. He also participated in school plays, band, choir, glee club as well as football, basketball, and track. He received scholarships for athletics and music to Northwestern Junior College in Orange City, IA. After graduation from NJC, he married his high school sweetheart, Amelia Ann Jeffries in Sioux City, IA during the polio epidemic in1952. He and his bride then moved to Holland, MI where he attended Hope College for 1 year. During that summer he was called into service for his country with the US Army. He served the majority of that time as a radio operator in the country of Panama. Following his honorable discharge, with the help of the GI bill he was able to finish his college education and obtained his BS degree in Chemistry from Morningside College in Sioux City, IA. He then obtained his MS degree at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE in Physiology. While there he was involved in a research project on the development of heart transplants. In addition, graduate work was done at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, the George Washington University, Washington, DC, and the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. During the time at the University of Iowa he was offered a position as lead scientist with the American Type Culture Collection in Washington, DC. They did not have appropriate laboratories, so he was assigned to be a guest scientist at the Tissue Culture Section of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. While there he was the author and co-author of several scientific papers and also gave oral presentations. He accepted a position as Director of Quality Control at the Grand Island Biological Company (GIBCO) in Grand Island, NY. Other positions held at GIBCO/a division of the Dexter Corporation were Vice President, Customer Service and later Vice President of Operations. At that time he not only was in charge of the GIBCO operations but also oversaw the operations of the St. Louis Serum Operation in St. Louis, MO as well as their operations in Mexico City. Additionally, the small animal facility and the microbiological operation in Madison, WI. He was also on the Board of Directors for their European Operation, GIBCO/Biocult, Glasgow, Scotland and their European Distribution Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He also traveled extensively in these positions to many countries including Scotland, England, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, and Japan. He was then named VP & COO and Site Manager for the Grand Island Operations which included another division, the Invenex Pharmaceutical Company. During this time, he was a member of the American Cell Biology Association, the Tissue Culture, Cryobiology Society, the American Red Cross, the Grand Island Rotary Club, the Grand Island Neighbors Foundation, and others. While in Grand Island, he became very involved in the community. He was President of Rotary, President of the GI Chamber of Commerce, a District Representative for the Rotary Club, a co-founder of the GI Neighbors Foundation, President of the Grand Island Board of Education, and President of the Session for the Island United Presbyterian Church among other things. Subsequently he left that position to become President of Flow Laboratories in McLean, VA. He then became Vice President of Operations for Cell Culture Laboratories in Cleveland, OH. Next came VP of Operations for Summit Biological Company. Following all this he retired and set up a consulting company, Innovation Concepts. He was successful in assisting several companies including the Centennial Corporation and Nova Tech among others. He then officially retired to Las Vegas, NV and later to Laughlin, NV. He was very active in the United Methodist Church in Bullhead City, AZ where he was Finance Chairman. He is a member of the VFW, American Legion, AMAC and NRA. He received Citizen of the Year Award in 1980 in GI, NY. He was a Fraternity member of Phi Tau Nu while at Hope College. While living in Laughlin, his wife, Amelia of nearly 49 years passed away. He then had the joy and responsibility of raising his granddaughter, Tamara, who was 12 years old at that time. After she graduated from high school and was attending college at Arizona State, he relocated to Rippey, IA to spend more time with his daughter, Cindy, and his other granddaughters, Danielle, and Courtney. He intended to remain in IA for a short time; however, he met, fell in love with, and married Margaret Houseman in Perry, IA in 2012. During his time in IA, he became active with the Rippey Lions Club where he was President. He also joined the United Methodist Church serving on the SPRC and Finance Committees. He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry Gerrit and Margaret Gertrude Den Beste, daughter Cynthia Ann Johnson, brother Harvey Eugene in infancy, sisters Glenda Emery and Delores Dick, brother-in-law Jerry Jeffries and sister-in-law Judy Ellett. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, brother John (Julie) Den Beste, brothers-in-law Richard Dick, Earl Emery and Gary Ellett, sister-in-law Deanna Jeffries, daughters Gini Claire Den Beste and Lisa (Barry) Willis, stepson Mark (Lura) Houseman, son-in-law Dan Johnson, grandchildren Tamara Den Beste, Danielle Johnson, Courtney Johnson, Megan Gray, Cory Willis, Abigail Cornelius, and Ashley Houseman, 6 great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, many cousins and lots of friends. He enjoyed spending time with his family, traveling, watching sports on television, and researching items on his computer. Funeral Service Thursday, January 20, 2022 11:00 AM First United Methodist Church 1100 3rd St. Perry, IA 50220 Graveside Service Friday, January 21, 2022 1:00 PM West Holman Township Cemetery 5204 180th St. Sibley, IA 51249 Visitation Wednesday, January 19, 2022 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM Carris Family Funeral Home & Cremation Care 1721 Park St Perry, Iowa 50220