GOING MACH JESUS: Hundreds surround McDonald family in support at Monday afternoon funeral

By Brandon Hurley
Managing Editor
News@beeherald.com

SCRANTON – Beauty has an odd way of making itself known even during life’s most challenging moments.

An out-pouring of support and celebration melded together in a heartbreaking and touching ceremony Jan. 24 during a funeral for Harley McDonald. Roughly 500 friends and family packed the Scranton Community Center honoring a young, rambunctious soul gone far too soon.

The emotion was immensely raw, uncontained and full. Tears were shed, hugs were given, wishing the 15-year old was still here.
Not a seat was left empty in the adjacent bleachers or in the chairs on the floor. Dozens of bouquets dotted the stage, surrounding a large picture of Harley while hundreds of photos and racing memorabilia were laid out on tables near the entrance of the gym.
This loss hit the Greene County community and surrounding areas hard, and it showed. Even the pastor leading Monday’s service, Dennis Martens of Trinity Lutheran Church in Jefferson , nearly broke down in tears several times throughout.

Harley McDonald, 15, a Greene County High School freshman, passed Jan. 14 at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City following a brave and devastating battle with a number of injuries he sustained in a crippling New Year’s Day fire.
A rural cabin roughly five miles north of Scranton went up in flames that morning, believed to be caused by a wood-burning stove. The Greene County sheriff’s office was notified of two juveniles at the hospital in Carroll at 3:30 a.m. Jan. 1. Lucas Oakes, the other boy staying at the cabin that night, spent a week at the hospital in Iowa City, but is now home. McDonald suffered a number of severe injuries, and though he tried to will himself back together again, never made it out of the hospital.

Losing someone so young in such a tragic way is truly heartbreaking. It’s unimaginable. A nightmare no one can wake up from. McDonald’s passing clearly had a massive impact on our community, as evidenced by the flow of tears Monday.

“I can’t imagine, and no one here can imagine, how difficult the last days and weeks have been for all of you. It’s really affected me and everyone else here,” Pastor Martens said during the funeral service. “Harley’s life and his death have made an impact on everybody. I know that God has brought us to comfort us and to tell all of us that Harley was special to him.
He continued, ``The fact of life is this, life is tough, life is good, life is precious and life is fragile.”  
McDonald was born Oct. 4, 2006 in Carroll. He lived to farm, running the skid-loader by the age of three. He was on to the combine not even 10 years later, piloting the massive machines like an expert at 11. McDonald’s passion was also motocross. He chose the number 314 because of his father. Harley began racing at the age of 8, a hobby that took the McDonald family all over the country. Dozens of racing memorabilia splattered the interior of the community center Monday, from old bikes and helmets to uniforms, ribbons and trophies.

The McDonald family was a proud supporter of everything their son did.  
Classmates and friends shed plenty of  tears Monday, joining in on an emotional farewell. Several of McDonald’s closest pals donned matching black quarter-zip pullovers, with his racing number 314 surrounded by angel wings on the back. Harley was perhaps most at peace while on his dirt bike, pushing the limits, seeing how fast he could maneuver and how far he could fly.
The cabin which burned down in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, was also McDonald’s place of refuge. He was able to enjoy his life as a kid while making cherished memories with his friends.
The McDonald family has shown incredible strength throughout this entire ordeal, which is likely why it was so easy for others to rally around them. Harley’s mom, Nina, was a brave soul throughout, posting continuously vivid and detailed updates of his hospital battle on a Carinbridge.org site.

From all accounts, McDonald was a special light destined for greatness. He was a tremendous fighter as well, battling with all his might to not let his New Year’s Day injuries take him. He survived nearly two weeks after almost perishing inside his cabin he built with his friend Lucas. Harley seemingly never backed down from a challenge, persevering through a number of surgeries prior to his passing. It was the only speed he knew, refusing to slow down, charging toward heaven at Mach Jesus, as his family references in Harley’s obituary.

Pastor Martens pulled back the curtain on a young kid who seemed to connect with everyone. A  youth approaching adulthood who committed his life to having fun, to testing the boundaries of life.

“Harley had only one speed anyway. The only way to do things in life was living life like there was no tomorrow,” Martens said. “Living a very full life in just 15 plus years. He’s now going Mach Jesus in Heaven.
He put his energy and his heart and his personality into the people that God put into his life. He worked hard, he played hard and he had fun.”

Hundreds of people lingered outside the community center after the funeral to witness Harley’s final trek to his resting spot, with his coffin lying in the bed of the family pick up truck, another member of the gang one last time. His friends made sure to send him off with a proper goodbye, producing one heck of a show through a number of nose-tickling and ear-piercing burnouts.
The community has been at the forefront from the moment of the fire, providing a figurative hug when the McDonald’s needed it most. They didn’t step out only at Harley’s funeral. A number of benefit dinners have either been organized or are in plans to be held, while a T-shirt and sweatshirt drive has also been created in the honor of not only Harley, but also Lucas Oakes. Bank accounts have been set up for donations as well. His Caringbridge site went national, garnering more than 119,000 visits.

The world lost a beaming light much too soon, in an unimaginable way. But McDondald left his mark.

A chilling bible verse, John 14:27, which Harley chose for his confirmation describes his final moments perfectly: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”