Harry A. Oxford

Harry Anthony Oxford

June 24, 1939 – December 3, 2025

Harry Anthony Oxford, age 86, of Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, passed away on December 3, 2025, at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, Minnesota, due to complications from a sudden illness.

Harry was born on June 24, 1939, at home in White Earth Township, Becker County, Minnesota. He attended St Benedict’s Mission School at White Earth, MN and high school at Waubun, MN. He attended the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medicine program briefly, where he met his future wife, Beverly Barnard.

He became a member of the Iron Workers Union and worked on interesting projects from St. Louis to Chicago. He was particularly proud of his work on the Minute Men Missile Fields of North Dakota. In the 1970s he founded Oxford Construction in Aurora, Minnesota. His projects spanned from North Dakota to the hills of Pennsylvania. Regionally, one could barely go 5 miles around the Iron Range without pointing out projects he had worked on. Harry also owned the Aurora Car Wash for decades before selling the business a few years ago.

An avid outdoorsman, Harry had a deep love for the lakes and rivers of northern Minnesota. He was a passionate hunter and fisherman who found peace and joy in the natural beauty of his home state. He rarely missed a deer season.

His children and grandchildren remember him as a man with deep morals, strong character, and a fun sense of humor (even up until his last day), and as a master card player. His impact on their lives, and his family’s lives, is immeasurable and impossible to put into words.

Harry is survived by sons: Kevin Oxford of Phoenix, AZ, Keith (Ann) Oxford of Baton Rouge, LA, and David (Kari) Oxford of Edina, MN; his beloved daughter, Deanne (John) Rossiter of Aurora, MN; his grandchildren, Brock Oxford, Laura (Oxford) Koster, Elise Oxford, Ava Oxford, and Harrison (Harry) Oxford; and his great-grandchildren Hannah and Ruby Koster; his sister, Cathy (Oxford) Erickson of Middle River, Minnesota; brother, Kenneth Oxford of Hibbing, Minnesota; and special friend Renee Koroshec of Aurora, MN.

He is preceded in death by his wife Beverly, his parents Mary and Verlin, his brother George Oxford of St. Paul, MN, and his in-laws, Bill and Thelma Barnard.

Memorial Mass will be held 11am Friday, December 12, 2025 at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Aurora, MN with Fr. David Forsman as celebrant. Friends may gather one hour prior to the mass at church. Private family inurnment will take place in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Aurora. Arrangements by Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Aurora.