Harold E. Wake and Wanda J. Wake

and Rest

Harold Edmunds Wake, 100, and Wanda Jeanne (Glick) Wake, 95, passed away peacefully at their home in Carmel, California, surrounded by family and devoted caretakers earlier this year–Harold on Feb. 10 and Wanda on June 4, 2025. They are lovingly remembered by their children, Melinda Wake Oliver (Larry Oliver), Melissa Ann Michiels (John Michiels), and George Harold Wake (Tina Nelson), along with their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, and dear friends.

Harold was born Jan. 6, 1925, in Fredonia, New York, to Grace Caroline and Harry Harold Wake. Weighing just over four pounds, he was carried home in a shoebox and kept warm by the family furnace. He grew up in Sherman, New York, with his sister, Ruth Elena, spending summers boating and swimming on Chautauqua Lake and winters ice-fishing. Summer jobs included working as a bellman at the Chautauqua Athenaeum Hotel and as a ranch hand on a maple syrup and dairy ranch–Pleasant View Dairy Farms, just outside the Village of Sherman. He sang in the Sherman Community Church choir and later helped to replace its steeple, build a local park, contribute to the purchase of a community fire truck and other needed equipment in gratitude for the community that shaped him.

After graduating from Sherman High School in 1943, Harold was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving as a navigator on a B-25 bomber and training as an accountant–skills that guided his later career. While stationed in Porterville, California, he fell in love with the state’s climate, lifestyle, and people–and never returned to live in New York.

Harold E. Wake and Wanda J. Wake

In 1948, following his honorable discharge, Harold began his business career as a controller/accountant at Perma Rain Irrigation in Lindsay, California. He later earned his pilot’s license and flew Cessna airplanes to expedite his travels around California and surrounding states. He traveled internationally–including to Mexico and Saudi Arabia to introduce modern drip irrigation technology into their farming practices.

Wanda Jeanne Glick, born July 2, 1929, in Lindsay, California to Helen and Carl Glick, the tenth of 14 children. Raised on a working farm, Wanda began each morning gathering eggs and feeding the animals before school yet still found time for sports and served as a majorette at Lindsay High School alongside her sister Barbara. Even in her nineties, she could still deliver her childhood pig call–“Sooieeeee Sooieeeee! Here Pig Pig Piggy!” with the most unique tone and confidence–to the delight of her family. Then, after school and sports, it was back home to feed the animals. She cherished simple joys: helping her mom in the kitchen, horseback rides into town, Saturday movies, and the aroma of her mother’s fresh-baked bread as neighborhood children lined up for a slice.

During World War II, Wanda remembered the lookout tower on the family property, which had to be staffed around the clock to watch for enemy planes. The post was largely staffed by women and teenage girls–including Wanda and her sisters–as well as men too old for the draft, while her brothers were away serving in the military–a duty they all carried out faithfully. As Wanda liked to say with quiet pride, “They all came home.”

Wanda later worked for Dr. Elmer Mead, V.R. Smith of Mt. Whitney Olive Co., and the Edison Company before joining Perma Rain, where her father drove her to the interview–and where she met Harold. What began as a chance meeting grew into a deep and lasting bond –a partnership that would endure for nearly seventy years.

They married on Feb. 19, 1955, at Wanda’s brother Bill’s home in Fresno, California. Wanda’s oldest brother Paris gave her away. Together, Harold and Wanda built a life centered on family and community.

The couple built their home on Chrysoprase Hill (later Strain Hill) in Lindsay, where they raised their three children. Their home became a gathering place for family, friends, and neighbors–especially during the holidays–when the table was always open to one more, a quiet reflection of the generosity that defined their lives.

Harold later bought Perma Rain, expanding it steadily and founding a sister company that manufactured PVC pipe ranging in size from three-quarter to twelve inches. Together, the two enterprises helped modernize irrigation across California’s agricultural valleys. His inventive mind led him to secure U.S. Patent No. 3,885,743, titled “Flow Control Device for Providing Low Flow Rates,” which advanced the design of drip and mist irrigation systems and laid the foundation for his later Misty Maid company. He led both Perma Rain and the PVC pipe company with integrity and foresight until 1977, when he sold them to the Apache Corporation, becoming part of Apache Plastics.

Retirement offered Harold and Wanda the freedom to channel their creativity and energy into the pursuits they loved most. Harold continued to refine his ideas, developing the MistyMaid drip-mist irrigation system later sold in nurseries and home-improvement stores throughout California. He served on the Lindsay Hospital Board where he brought his knowledge of finance and management to the hospital. Wanda remained his steadfast partner and confidante, guiding the family with grace while sharing in every new venture and adventure. A gifted cook and gracious host, she took joy in passing her love of cooking to her children–culinary traditions that will be cherished for generations to come. Together, they embraced travel, tennis, and golf, building lasting friendships wherever they went.

After years divided between Lindsay and Palm Desert, Harold and Wanda eventually made Carmel their permanent home–a place that embraced them in the winter of their lives. Living only a few doors away, Melissa and her family provided the daily closeness, care, and companionship they were blessed to share. There they continued to live fully, surrounded by the beauty of the coast, their circle of friends, and visits from children and grandchildren.

Harold kept his sense of adventure alive through his annual fishing trips–traditions that began in the 1960s and carried on for more than six decades. Each year he planned excursions to Alaska, Mexico, or Canada with friends and family, treasuring the laughter, the stories, and the chance to share the experience with his son George.

Harold and Wanda’s greatest joy was always the happiness and accomplishments of their three children, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. They were loving and supportive parents and grandparents, always present with encouragement and care. Proponents of lifelong learning, they expanded their philanthropic reach through their family foundation, inviting their children and grandchildren, spouses to take part. In doing so, they shared both the privilege and the lessons of giving–imparting to future generations the value of giving back and the joy of community service.

Though they are gone, the warmth, generosity, and love that filled their home, lives on in the family and friends who were shaped by it. They will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

Together, Harold and Wanda are survived by their children: Melinda Wake Oliver (Larry), Melissa Ann Michiels (John), and George Harold Wake (Tina); their grandchildren: Lindsay (Guillaume), Ryan (Ashley), Lauren (Zack), and Katherine (Bryce); and their great-grandchildren: Benjamin, Harley, Graham, William, Philippe, Scott, Grace, and an eighth grandson eagerly awaited. They are also survived by Wanda’s dear sister, Barbara Zike Stark, and by many nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

They were preceded in death by their parents–Harry and Grace Wake, and Carl and Helen Glick–by Harold’s sister, Ruth, and by Wanda’s twelve brothers and sisters–Charlotte, Norman, Paris, Bill, Doris, Louis, Charles, Robert, Judy, Danny, and two babies lost in infancy.

Honoring their shared wish, knowing their time apart would be brief, a joint service was held on Sept. 15, 2025, at the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery, where they were celebrated and laid to rest together, with immediate family in attendance.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association, in remembrance of Harold and Wanda Wake and in tribute to their enduring spirit of generosity and care.