Harry E. Tundevold, 82, of Sherwood Township, passed away on his own couch Saturday, February 28, 2026 at his home under hospice care surrounded by his family.
In keeping with Harry’s wishes, he has been cremated.
Against his wishes, his family invites friends, neighbors, and former colleagues to share a funny story about Harry at a gathering at his home, 898 Dunks Road, Sherwood, MI Sunday, March 15 from 12:00-3:00 p.m. While he hated the pomp and circumstance around death, he would understand their need to celebrate him one last time.
Harry was born December 29, 1943 to Einar and Faye (Pulver) Tundevold, in Battle Creek, Michigan. He graduated from Lakeview High School with the Class of 1962. He then attended Kellogg Community College (KCC) for a while, but decided he was wasting his time and money and enlisted in the Navy at the age of 21.
He attended both Hospital Corps Class A School and Field Medical Service School and served as a Corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam in 1966-67. He was one of only 13 to return on his transport out of 131. Deciding it would be a waste not to use what he learned in the service, he returned to KCC and earned an Associate in Applied Sciences for Nursing in 1972.
After Vietnam, he was stationed in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he met Judy (Hubler) Tundevold, on a blind date. Judy and Harry got married September 7, 1968 in St. Paul, Minnesota. They shared nearly 47 years together before she preceded him in death July 30, 2015.
The couple moved to Battle Creek in 1969 and welcomed their daughter Carrie in 1974. In 1975, the family settled on Harry’s family farm in Sherwood Township. He spent nearly his entire nursing career at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center, where he was one of the first male nurses to be hired there. He retired in 2010 after nearly 38 years working on the psychiatric ward helping veterans not quite as lucky as he was himself.
When Harry wasn’t working, he was an avid hunter and fisherman. In the end, it wasn’t age or ill-health that got Harry, it was the fact that the ice was in on Union Lake and he wasn’t well enough to go ice fishing on his own that did him in. He spent every spare moment restoring and remodeling his home and turning his place into a hunters paradise. A conservationist at heart, he believed Sherwood was a special place that should be protected from development and from the corporate interests that sought to turn it into a wind or solar farm.
After the death of his wife, he focused nearly all his attention on his child and his grandchildren, being there for them in every way possible. In his later years, he became a film buff. There wasn’t a western ever filmed that Harry didn’t know all about.
Left to mourn Harry are his daughter, Carrie Gallup of Sherwood; his grandchildren, Gillian and Harriet Gallup of Sherwood; his sister, Janet Dillon of Fort Pierce, Florida; his adopted nephew Chris (Kelsey) Maye of Coldwater; and his life-long best friend Jim (Elaine) Branch of Kalamazoo.
In addition to his wife, he is preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, Carole Storvick and Linda Tundevold; his brothers-in-law, Paul Storvick and Dick Dillon; and his beloved former son-in-law Byron Gallup.
Memorial donations may be made to Branch-Hillsdale Pheasants Forever Chapter #0464, 7712 12 Mile Rd., Burlington, MI 49029,. Please put Harry Tundevold on the memo line of your check.
Please visit www.lighthousefuneral.com to share memories, pictures and videos with the family.
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