HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 02-01 Harold Carver, businessman and last great-grandchild of early Maplewood settler, dies MAPLEWOOD REVIEW
Harold Carver, businessman and last
great-grandchild of early Maplewood
settler, dies
Submitted by admin on Wed, 02/01/2017 - 12:00am
On July 30, 2016, Harold Carver celebrated his 95th birthday at Red
Rock Senior Living in Woodbury. He enjoyed his day surrounded by family and friends, and even shared
a dance with his youngest daughter, Viktoria Carver.
On Jan. 17, Harold Carver passed away peacefully at Red Rock Senior Living in Woodbury, surrounded by
many family members. He lived to be 95-years-old.
Carver was the last remaining great-grandchild of Thomas Carver, one of the first settlers of south
Maplewood and the namesake for Carver Lake.
Thomas Carver came from Scotland in the late 1800s, and Harold and his siblings grew up hearing about
their great-grandfather’s friendly encounters with the American Indians who also lived in the area.
In the early 1900s, Harold’s grandfather Chauncy Carver, and some local farmers, built the first Carver
Elementary School on Highwood Avenue. It was a one-room schoolhouse that was attended by three
generations of Carvers: Harold’s parents, Harold and his siblings, and Harold’s children.
Harold was a young teenager when his dad died in a car accident on Highway 61 in the 1930s, leaving
Harold’s mother with eight children and no income. His family lived year round in an uninsulated
summer cabin in south Maplewood until he was 15.
When he was old enough he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and later served in the U.S. Navy
during World War II. Upon returning home, he worked several jobs before ultimately opening the first
Carver General Repair garage. He later opened two additional body shops.
Harold married his wife, Helen, in 1944 and had six children. He built his two-story brick home behind
Carver General Repair in the 1950s, and the business is now run by Robert, one of Harold’s sons.
Days before his 95th birthday last July, Harold told a Review reporter the key to a long happy life is to
“just be yourself” and work hard. “You don’t get it for nothing. I burned the midnight oil quite a few
nights,” he said.
“He had a nice long life,” said Carver’s daughter Joy Madland. She said that in the days before his death,
Harold quipped that he felt like he was “running out of gas.”
She added that about a half hour before Harold’s passing, a bald eagle swooped down right outside his
window as if to pick him up and ferry him to heaven. Then at the funeral service, a bald eagle perched
on the cross at the peak of the Guardian Angels Church and remained there throughout most of the
church service.
Carver was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Helen and his seven siblings. He is survived by his
sons Harold Jr. (Jim), Jack, and Robert (Becky); daughters Viktoria, Susan (Bud) Nielsen, and Joy (Dan)
Madland; grandchildren Dawn, Debbie, Daniel, Dennis, Jessee, Wynn, Troy, Robert Jr., Brianna and
Raeann; and 13 great-grandchildren in addition to many other relatives and friends.
Funeral services were held Jan. 23 at Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Oakdale. He was buried with
military honors at Evergreen Memorial Gardens, 3400 Century Ave. N., Mahtomedi.