Longtime Mineola community leader Jim Harder, 82, passed away Friday, April 24.
Among his numerous accomplishments and engagements, he was a car dealer, home developer and bank director.
Harder and his wife Carol arrived in Mineola in 1977 with son Lane, born just the year before. Daughter Lana soon followed.
With partner Joe Jones of Gladewater, he became the owner of Harder-Jones Chevrolet-Oldsmobile. The two also founded the Lake Country Land Company, with Harder as managing partner for the development of the Spring Lake subdivision off N. Pacific, where Harder resided until his death.
He touched almost every aspect of the community: Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, Wood County Airport, Mineola ISD, Wood County Child Welfare Board, First United Methodist Church administrative board, Mineola Civic Center (where he and Carol both served on the board) and Boy Scouts, along with many professional affiliations such as the East Texas Chevrolet Dealers.
He served most, if not all, of those organizations in leadership positions.
In 1984 he was honored as the Mineola community’s Man of the Year.
He served a record 43 years as director of what is now Broadstreet Bank until his death.
Justice of the Peace Janae Holland recounted going to see Mr. Harder when she was 14 with questions about a car her mother was considering buying.
Harder was patient, explaining the vehicle’s features and writing them out for her to take to her mother, who came back a few days later and bought the champagne-colored 1984 Oldsmobile Toronado.
“He might have even let me test drive it a little,” she said.
He was a great guy and a good businessman, Holland said.
Demethrius Boyd served together on the bank board with Harder, who championed his appointment.
“He cared about everybody,” Boyd said. “It didn’t matter who they were.”
Harder supported many causes and families, often behind the scenes, Boyd remembers.
“He knew what was right and was very fair,” Boyd said.
He described Harder as a people person who could relate to anybody.
“Growing up in Mineola, everyone knew Jim Harder,” said State Sen. Bryan Hughes. “Businessman, community leader, philanthropist – he cast a long shadow, literally and figuratively.”
As his obituary reflected, Harder held pretty much every leadership post there was—and many at the same time, Hughes recalled.
“Mr. Harder left a mark on Mineola and our region that will be seen and felt for a long time,” Hughes said. “We will miss him.”
Sherry Mize worked at what is now Broadstreet Bank during Harder’s entire tenure on the board of directors. “He was an exceptional person,” she said, “a good storyteller, witty, and knowledgeable in business dealings and in banking.”
Harder was born in Detroit, Mich., a situation over which he said he had no control.
His work ethic had an early start when he was nine years old, working for his uncle Pete Streiff, owner of Pete Streiff’s Outboard in West Memphis, Ark., helping to repair and rebuild outboard boat motors.
After majoring in business at Memphis State University, Harder began working for National Car Rental in 1963. After breaking all profit records in Atlanta, Ga., he was transferred to Houston. He met Carol Mixon, whom he interviewed in Dallas for a job as a training instructor.
They were married in 1973, settling in Humble.
As his family recalled, sensing that life at the top of the corporate world was not all that it was cracked up to be, and wanting to make a better and safer life for his wife and children, he became a business consultant while waiting for the opportunity to move out of Houston, stay in Texas and work in the automobile industry.
Charles Carter, a colleague who owned a large chain of General Motors dealerships, convinced GM not to sell Otho Motor Company in Mineola until Harder had exercised a right of first refusal. Jim and Carol visited Mineola and decided that it was the perfect place to raise a family.
In retirement, he continued to offer pro bono financial counseling to countless families and individuals. He helped business owners improve their cash flow, hiring practices, record keeping and much more when it came time to sell or liquidate their businesses—bringing their businesses into the black, walking away and leaving success behind. He was a constant personal and financial advisor to his family and friends until his last days.
He was a master storyteller with a keen sense of humor. He was a lover of music, fishing and boating. He was a jack-of-all-trades who could repair anything.
Visitation and a Celebration of Life service will be on Saturday, May 16 at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively, both in the sanctuary of First Methodist Church of Mineola. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Methodist Church of Mineola.