Jonathan Harvey Glover was born February 7, 1925 in Greenfield Township, Brown County, South Dakota to Roy S and Sena Glover, the sixth in a family of eight children. A sister, Grace Caroline, died at birth.
Harvey grew up on the family farm attending his first eight years of school at a country school 2 ½ miles away. He later attended three years of high school (one year being spent in Frederick his junior year as he wanted to play football) graduating from Hecla in 1943.
Harvey had a life-long love of farming. At the age of 10 he started working in the fields. At the age of 13 he was part of a threshing crew that hauled bundles using six teams of horses. Shortly after graduating from high school, Harvey worked for a neighbor all day in the fields and milking 8 to 10 cows by hand at night for $80.00 a month.
In the fall of 1943 Harvey joined the Navy and started basic training in Farragut, Idaho. Within a month, he became ill with rheumatic fever and was flown to a naval hospital in Corona, Ca where he spent six months recuperating. Harvey was then re-assigned to active duty as Master of Arms, but requested that he have sea duty. His assignments at sea were trigger man, yeoman, and the relay man at General Quarters. When the war ended, Harvey stayed in the Navy so that he could through the Panama Canal on the ship.
After the Navy, Harvey attended Brookings College, graduating in three years with a masters in ag economics and animal husbandry. On October 24, 1947 Harvey married Lois Alley of Orient and to this union seven children were born. After college, Harvey worked in the Ag Economics Dept. as an Extension Livestock marketing specialist, then a GI instructor at Brookings High school. Harvey then moved to Orient to work on his father-in-law’s farm, fulfilling his lifelong love of farming. He quit farming when he became ill with sleeping sickness. At the request of a good friend from the Extension service, he came to Burke, SD to take a job as a County Agent in 1955. He had no intention of staying, but liked the area so much he ended up staying 60 years. In 1960 Harvey began work at Burke State Bank as their ag loan officer, where he also was a realtor and prepared income tax. In 1968 Harvey changed his career yet another time and began working for IDS as a financial representative and continued preparing income tax, selling real estate, and farming on the side.
In 1978, Harvey met Gigi White and to this union four children were born.
Harvey’s years at Burke were filled with public service. He was appointed to the Gregory County Board of Education where he served for a few years. Harvey was also appointed to the West River Conservancy Board and the State Board of Water and Natural Resources. He also served on the board of Community Memorial Hospital for over thirty years, many of those years as the chairman.
In 1992, Harvey again suffered illness, having a stroke. He spent over three months in the hospital and had to learn to walk again. His love of people and life and his love for his family motivated him to get better. Harvey didn’t stop working. He still clerked auction sales, sold real estate, and was a financial consultant. In the summers he mowed the apartment house, rental house and his own lawn – it was the next best thing to farming. Many times he expressed how much he enjoyed a trip to California in 2002 that his daughter Stephanie planned. He often spoke about the Honor Flight he took in April 2009. Harvey was a tremendous help to his wife Gigi, helping her in whatever capacity that he could, but especially in being a loyal, loving husband.
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