Pastor Harold Salem Aberdeen, SD: Harold Emil Salem, 99, entered into the presence of the Lord peacefully in his sleep on December 18, 2020 with his family by his side in Aberdeen, SD. The legacy he left will endure for generations. Pastor Salem was born on June 26, 1921 near Belle Fourche, SD to Mike and Clara Salem. He was the oldest of 5 children and grew up working the farm and tending sheep. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior at a young age and devoted his life to faithfully serving Him.Harold married Beulah I. Tuttle on June 07, 1946, at the First Baptist Church in Witten, SD and was married for 59 1/2 years before her passing on Christmas Eve, 2005.He entered the ministry at age 23, serving faithfully as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Belle Fourche, his home church, for 13 1/2 years.In 1958, he accepted the call to the First Baptist Church of Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he served as Pastor for 52 1/2 years. While pastoring the church, he started the First Baptist Christian School, now Aberdeen Christian School. He also enjoyed leading numerous tours of the Holy Land as it brought the Bible to life for many.Harold founded the Christian Worship Hour in 1979 by telecasting the church worship service on a single TV station. Today, Pastor Salemâs preaching is broadcast on over 100 stations around the world and shortwave radio reaching 90% of the worldâs population. Pastor Salem earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Black Hills University, graduated from Northwestern Bible School and Seminary where he earned a Bachelor and Master degree in Theology, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.He was a well-known and well-loved community member of Aberdeen where he served on countless nonprofit boards including the YMCA, Red Cross, Habit for Humanity, St. Lukeâs Hospital, Presentation College, FCA, Northern Plains Hospice, among numerous others.He served as the President of the South Dakota Baptist Convention, served on the faculty of the Billy Graham Schools of Evangelism for 16 years, was named âPastor of the Yearâ twice in the state of South Dakota, and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2000. He is the author of three books and the subject of one documentary, Heart of a Shepherd, produced in 2018 to document his extraordinary life. He worked passionately for the Lord every day of his life promising repeatedly that he would retire â3 days before his funeral.â He fulfilled that promise working full-time until the very end.Haroldâs selfless spirit, kind words, sense of humor, impeccable memory, sharp mind, and boundless energy endeared him to others wherever he went?whether a country farm or an executive board room. One of the directors from the Billy Graham School of Evangelism said it best, âWhenever Pastor Salem walked into the room, everyone wanted to be around him.âHis children will tell you he was the same person at home as he was in the pulpit. Always loving, kind, fun, and faithful to the Lord. His love for Beulah was unconditional and his love for others was never questioned.For the last seventy-six years, by his words, sermons and life, Harold Salem taught others what it means to follow Christ. He would want to know today, more than anything else, that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior so you can spend eternity in heaven with the God who loves you and sent his Son to die for you.The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. ?Proverbs 20:7