Generous Stories and Steps
Harry Kirchhoff has left a mark wherever he goes, especially across Masonic groups and charities. As he approaches his 70th year as a Mason, he continues to support a fraternity that has given him so much. Following his wedding, his wife suggested he take some of the money they received as gifts and join the Masonic lodge. In 1951, he petitioned Frankford Lodge No. 292, Philadelphia. (After his first wife passed away, and he married Dolores, he petitioned Warren Lodge No. 310, in Collegeville, which was closer to her home.) “I never regretted it,” Harry said. “There’s good harmony in the lodge. I enjoy the fellowship and look forward to the meetings. The way they want you to be – helpful, etc., – it rubs off on you.” Harry’s career with Ford Motors included fixing telephone systems and merging systems together, so people could direct inward dial and eliminate the need for switchboards. The job had him traveling across the country and prevented him from serving as a lodge officer, but he took part in as many Masonic activities as he could. He was actively involved in the Children’s Identification Program (CHIP), through which he fingerprinted and interviewed children across the country to provide
parents with information to give law enforcement and recovery officials in the event their child went missing. Harry also volunteered as a transportation driver for Shriners Hospitals for Children. “When you see them [kids] smile when they’re coming home, that’s the reward,” Harry said. He was active in DeMolay, serving as chapter advisor of the Northeast Chapter and as Master Councilor. For his efforts, he earned the DeMolay Degree of Chevalier, Legion of Honor and Cross of Honor. A few years after Harry’s first wife passed away, he reconnected with Dolores, the widow of a friend who Harry knew through DeMolay. He and Dolores wed, and a couple of years later, she suggested they move to Masonic Village at Elizabethtown. Dolores had visited friends at Masonic Village frequently and knew it was “the best place to finish up your years.” Harry has taken full advantage of the campus’ wellness options, swimming frequently and walking 10,000 steps every day at the Baird Wellness Center. He also appreciates that the dining servers grow to know what each resident does and doesn’t like. MasonicVillages.org
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