Hard-driving Elginite remembered for racing motorcycles until he was 80

Harold L. Lasley didn't believe in doing anything "good enough."

The German immigrant and World War II veteran took everything to the limit.

The longtime Elgin resident didn't just ride motorcycles, he raced them on dirt tracks and country roads, touring 49 states.

He rode until he was 80.

Lasley wasn't content serving as a regional sales manager for Euclid, a heavy machinery company; he showed operators how to make repairs and clients how each earthmover worked.

Lasley died this week at the age of 84 after an illness.

Born in 1923 in Germany, his parents sent him -- alone -- to the United States when he was 15.

His daughter, Karla Lasley, believes having to survive on his own helped her father develop a work ethic, no-nonsense attitude and independent spirit.

"His mom made him leave the country because he was being recruited to be part of the Hitler Youth. She didn't want him to have any part of that," Karla Lasley said. "He didn't have any contact with them afterward. So it was survive or die."

Lasley joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the programs developed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to put people to work.

Later, Lasley served nearly four years in the U.S. Army in Europe. He fought in the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge and Rhineland campaign, earning two Victory Medals, four Bronze stars and other awards.

During the war, he found an enemy motorcycle that he liked. So he took it apart, shipped pieces stateside, and reassembled it.

Jack Wachtel, an Elgin man who rode motorcycles with Lasley, marveled that Lasley would somehow always show up at his house after Wachtel's wife, Sherry, made a batch of her trademark chocolate chip and pecan cookies.

Wachtel, a retired commercial airline pilot and Navy veteran, also was impressed with Lasley's ability to fix or build just about anything.

"He had the mechanical ability. I was always amazed at what he had the courage to dig into," Wachtel said. "He had a lot of stories. You met him and you felt like you knew him all along."

Lasley also earned a pilot's license, modified the family cars so they had more horsepower and erected a huge ham radio tower himself.

And he was bluntly honest with people.

Karla Lasley said one of her father's favorite sayings was "lead, follow or get out of my way."

The elder Lasley was sometimes grumpy, but always quick-witted and very set in his ways.

Some folks called him "Crazy Harold."

"He had no fear. Riding a bike to him was like breathing; he didn't have to think about it," Karla Lasley said. "You know how a cat has nine lives? He had five, and I was sure he was going to use 15 of them."

Lasley also is survived by his second wife, Helena, whom he married after Doris, his wife of more than 40 years, died.