Dave and I became acquainted shortly after he arrived in the Yukon.  He took over the hunting area which my father had once owned.  I am a witness to what may have been the very first time that Dave broke through the ice.  We were moving horses over the north end of Atlin Lake.  It was late, it was pitch black, and it was forty below when the back end of Dave's stock trailer went through the ice.  It was a haunting experience and we were lucky to have had a pick up truck to deliver us safely into Whitehorse.
Dave and Carolee became my friends.  There were some long years between our visits, but we easily took up where we had left off.  I am very happy to have had the opportunity of visiting Dave earlier this year.    I will remember him for his sense of humour, his determination despite all odds, and his strong, unaltering faith in God.
Thank you, Harder Family, for this opportunity to share memories and to partipcate in the Celebration of Dave's colorful life. 

It was almost a yearly ritual to dunk a vehicle or piece of equipment into the frozen lake. My dad had so many 'going through the ice stories' I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you for certain how many actually happened but I know of 4.

These were some of the scariest times for us as we would huddle in and watch from the front windows of our house with our 2 pairs of binoculars. While most people would be watching the news, we were watching our dad and his crew create the news.  It was, at times, hard to contain the panic we all felt inside as the equipment left the shoreline for one last trip up or down the lake. Luckily no lives were ever lost in any of these sinking ice episodes. Most of the sunken equipment surfaced and in this particular picture it was the skidder that took a swim.

Many young men and women were guided by Dave's instruction. For some it was learning a new skill or trade and for others it was getting back on the higher road.

These are some shared stories and accolades from a Face book page we had started.

From John Sembsmoen ( in the feartured picture )

Dave was my dad..my mentor..and my friend..his wife was my mother and his children are my brothers and my sister. It is sad to see Dave leave us but you know we will see him again. I love you all and my thoughts and prayers are with you all...you all know that i love your Mom and your Dad and i love you too.You will always be my family.

Lealand Jacobs

I have always remembered his voice and his laugh!!!! I saw him only a few times the last 15 yrs!!! His laugh and the sound of his voice always manage to bring a smile to my face! I remember his laugh so clearly all of my life! When I was only 7-8 yrs old he had a little red dirt bike at the ranch! For years I asked to ride it!!!!! He kept telling me when your bigger. So the year finally came and he let me ride that little red dirt bike!!!! I was really happy he finally thought I was big enough! I started the dirt bike and with a snap of the throttle I was out of control and smashed right into the fence out side the house!!!!!!! I remember him laughing!!! He walked over with my dad and put me right back on the bike and said go again!!!! I may have put on 1000 kms on that poor little bike that weekend!!! I always think of that when I need a laugh!!!! I hope in this trying time everyone can relate to my story with there own or just smile at the fact that he made a difference In many lives! Still to this day his lesson sticks with me!!!!! Get up and never stop trying! Only now it hurts alot more!!!!

Dave Jacobs

Dave had big heart. He met me at the vancouver airport when i was flying home from california when my dad passed. He gave me a big hug and there was a few tears, more than a few memories shared, and some more tears and hugs. I will miss that man. I hope to give you all hugs and offer what comfort and help that i can.

Dolly Marchewa

Sorry to hear of your loss. I remember being in Carcross, living right next door, actually renting from your parents. Your Dad was alway a very hard working man and away allot of the time, but made it home each night. He will be missed by many. Bless all of the Harder Family....

Billy Lovely

Definitely some of my fondest life memories have come from hanging with the Harder family! Your father totally got me hooked on speed and fishing both in that crazy fast jet boat! Dale, Bruce and I were the happiest young range cowboys around! Riding the cows and playing the oldest improvised game in the world, cow patty frisbee! So much fun and the smell of that place in the summer when our fathers were working the mill. Great memories of great times with great people! Thanks for allowing us all to share this moment with you. Hugs to you all xoxoxo

Heather Simpson Cartwright

So many years have passed since i lived with you and your family on the ranch, but some of the best memories i have of that time together include the love and laughter in your family. I especially remember the jokes shared and played and the kick your dad got out of them. He was a good man with a big heart and i am glad i had the chance to know him.

Troy Ford

Today as I worked I spent a lot of time remembering Dave and all the times we had with him. Many good memories come to mind, but the thing I kept coming back to was how Dave impacted my life and just about everybody he came in contact with. It didn't matter if you knew him for just a few minutes or for years, you always came away with the knowledge that you had spent time with a gentleman who was a genuine friend. He had a great sense of humour and a quick joke was always near the surface. More importantly, he was always quick to share his faith in Jesus and led many souls to the Lord. He discipled many of us as new Christians, giving encouragement, advice and a helping hand whenever it was needed. He set an example for all of us in what it means to be a good friend. The Yukon has lost a great man, we all are richer for having known him and will miss him tremendously.

Thank you Dale and family for sharing this time with all of us, maybe together we can all get through it a little easier. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Harder Family.

Dave, I feel your passing yesterday very sadly, but I know that you woke up in the presence of your Lord and Saviour for all enternity. We will see each other again someday. Go with God my friend, my mentor, my Captain my Captain.

Delight Knapp  ( A response to a post on face book )

Dave said almost the same thing to me this morning in regards to your Dad! He says that ever since he was 13 ..and all the way to 19 years old, he spent almost every school holiday and one entire year after highschool with you guys and he relives the memories almost every day (he even dreams about it all:) He says he has so many stories that he doesn't know where to start. Your Mom and Dad played a HUGE role in his life during those formative years. They were like parents to him and he says probably kept him from doing really stupid things. He says even though things weren't perfect he has NOTHING but fond memories of both your parents. I have kept every letter that he wrote me that year after high school when he worked at the ranch, and they are pretty much an archive of everything that happened at the ranch that year.....everyonce in awhile he gets them out and reads through the memories. He says he thanks God for getting to know Dave Harder and his family from the 10 mile ranch on Taggish Lake! We really would like to come to the Celebration of his life on May 12 in the Yukon.....we'll see:)

Kevin Neufeld So many memories over so many years and different circumstances and times our lives interacted and around the ranch. First fish nearly as big as myself at the time, logging up and down the lakes summer and winter, roping caribou from row boat.......

Here is one of Dave water skiing at Marsh Lake - Yes it is hard to tell who this is because the picture is small but those white legs are the giveaway. Rarely did we ever see our dad in pair of shorts unless getting wet was involved. The day he skied he was in his mid 50's. He called the next day to say he could hardly move. If I remember correctly he went off shore like a pro and landed as if he were a pro. I am going to say this might have been his one and only time of water skiing - I might be wrong on that.

Took a drive with Dad from Bragg Creek via Banff to Kimberly an Fernie and around to the Crow's Nest Pass in 2008 - Every mountain top down hwy 93 had a story he needed to share. In his early 20's, he worked as a topographical surveyor in this area.  He liked that job because it would end just in time for him to become a hunting guide again in the fall just down the road in Fenie. That of course meant another group of stories to be told for every mountain top around Fernie. He liked to brag that he could climb 2 mountains in one day in those days and he smoked a pack a day.

While I have been living here in Alberta - every mountain top I've reached ( which was quite a few until 2009 when I injured my leg ) I would call him on my cell phone and let him know which peak I was on and yes he usually had story to tell me about that particular mountain top I was standing on. It made him so happy it was as though he was right there himself.

There was a couple of mountain tops that we saw traveling on highway 93 that he said was named after some star who was well endowed. - As I was driving he nudged me and said, (observing the unique shape of that mountain top) ..."You know why we named it that?"....giggle giggle.......I wish I could remember - so many stories told with such detail in about 8 hours I now wish I had recorded this. I think he was referring to Mount Edith and Mount Louise.......