Grand Marshall
Captain Harold and Karen Terry were chosen this year to be the 2012 Lehi Round-Up Celebration’s Grand Marshal. They are a great example of community service and a life time of devotion to the city of Lehi.
Harold and Karen were both born and raised here in Lehi. They met while in high school at early morning band practice. They both played the trumpet and though Karen thought Harold was a loudmouth, disrespectful teenager, he finally won her over and took her to the prom for their first date. After that, they became high school sweet hearts and were married in 1973. They have been married for 39 years.
Karen remembers enjoying the Round-Up events as a family. They attended the Rodeo all three nights, and Karen’s mom would sew special, matching outfits for all of her siblings just for the occasion.
For the first 19 years of their marriage, Harold was a truck driver; he then went back to school and became a Police Officer in 1992. He graduated and was hired two days later by Lehi City. He taught traffic school, and he taught young men and young women groups about drugs and self defense. He coached little league baseball for many years and loved being able to give back to the community.
After being a Police Officer for some time, Harold earned his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Law and his Master’s degree from Anaheim University. In 1999, he received Officer of the Year from the Utah Narcotics Association while he was assigned to Utah County Major Crimes Task Force. Captain Terry had been an officer for 17 years when he was shot while serving the community of Lehi.
Since the shooting, Captain Terry has had to work daily on his speech. The left side of his brain had been damaged, and he had to find a new way to speak and learn. He has no taste or smell, but he can kind of smell Karen’s perfume. When he was shot, he fell and broke his nose and it destroyed the nerves and senses. At that same time, Karen found out she had a non-cancerous tumor. She wanted Harold to be stable before she had her surgery, so ten months later she had the tumor removed. Harold said that watching Karen being taken in to surgery was the first time he’d ever been afraid; he didn’t want to lose her.
Harold and Karen have survived many battles with their health and they are now healthy and go together yearly on a date to get their MRI scans. They enjoy camping and love being with their six children and eight grandchildren any time they can.
In 2009, after the shooting, Captain Harold Terry was awarded the Medal of Valor and the Purple Heart by the Utah Peace Officers Association for his courageous actions and personal bravery to protect the public. In 2010, he was given the Robert B. Hutchings Memorial Award for his service to the public. We would like to thank Captain Terry for his service to our community of Lehi and we are honored to have Harold and Karen Terry as our Grand Marshals this year for the 2012 Lehi Round-Up Celebration.