James Harkendorff Obituary

Former Durango resident James E. Harkendorff died of pancreatic cancer Tuesday, March 23, 2010, in Cortez. He was

62.

Mr. Harkendorff was the only child born to Erwin and Dorothy (Woerner) Harkendorff on March 16, 1948, in Falls City,

Neb. His mother died when he was 8, and his father married Lucille Daniels, who helped raise him.

Mr. Harkendorff graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in civil engineering. He moved to Durango to

work for the Bureau of Reclamation, where he helped design the McPhee Dam and Reservoir.

In Durango, he met Lavon Crowley, and the couple married in 1975 in Durango.

The Harkendorffs moved to Cortez in 1978 for Mr. Harkendorff to continue his work on the McPhee project. They lived in

Cortez ever since.

After his retirement, Mr. Harkendorff started teaching a summer youth tennis program and eventually became the coach

for the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys and girls tennis teams. Many of the students he had taught at a young age

continue to take lessons and play high school tennis. His family said these students were special to him.

“When Jim accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life in 1979, he was completely changed," his family wrote. “He has

said to many people that knowing Jesus is the most important thing in life. Because he loved kids, he taught children's

church for more than 20 years. He thought that church should be fun for kids, and that they were able to understand the

Word of God."

Mr. Harkendorff loved the Four Corners and enjoyed hiking and camping in the mountains with his family and dirt biking

in the rock country of Utah with his daughters and the Crowley family.

Mr. Harkendorff is survived by his wife of 35 years, Lavon Harkendorff, of Cortez; and daughters Carli Hardendorff of

Colorado Springs and Haley Harkendorff of Tulsa, Okla.

A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 26, 2010, at Rock Springs Community Church, 10964 County Road 26, Suite

206, in Cortez. Visitation will be held from 9:15 to 9:45 a.m. before the service. Burial will take place afterward at

Cortez Cemetery.

A memorial fund for the Harkendorff Tennis Bleachers has been established at First National Bank of Cortez, 140 West

Main St., Cortez, CO 81321; or memorial contributions may be sent to Hospice of Montezuma, P.O. Box 740, Cortez, CO

81321.

Online condolences may be sent to www.ertelfuneralhome.

com in the obituary section.