My son Nathaniel has flown out to be with me, all set up without my knowledge a while back by my crafty wife Elizabeth.
The Wrigley Field Marquee is back up and running, and it looks great! #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/K2OBbvEhdM
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 8, 2016
The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.
I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o’er me
That my soul cannot resist:
A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.
Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time,
For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life’s endless toil and endeavor;
And tonight I long for rest.
Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;
Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.
Such songs have a power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And comes like the benediction
That follows after prayer.
Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882); this was one of Dad’s favorite poems which he used to listen to on the radio before he went to bed when he was growing up–KSH.
Francis Stuart Harmon Jr., affectionately known as “Stuart” or “Stu” by those closest to him, died at the Village at Summerville in South Carolina on April 2, 2016. He was 83.
Born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1932 he was the son of the late Francis Stuart Harmon and Waverly (Harwood) Harmon. His sister, Virginia Jameson, passed away on March 14, 1988.
He was married to Mary Ann (French) Harmon for 46 years until her death on March 8, 2007.
Following an education at Horace Mann School and Princeton University, Mr. Harmon served in the Navy on the Air Craft Carrier U S Hancock in the Pacific from 1955-1957, and later as an instructor at the Naval Academy from 1957-1959. After marrying Mary Ann French in 1959, he earned a Masters in Science at the University of Illinois in 1960.
He then taught chemistry at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey from 1960-1981, and afterward at the Charlotte (NC) Latin school from 1981-1989. He also wrote test questions for the Education Testing Service for the College Board Chemistry Achievement test and Advanced Placement exam.
As a boy Stu fell in love with the Silver Bay Association in the Adirondack Mountains in upper New York State. He and his wife became permanent residents there in 1995 after spending many summers in the area with his own family. He served the association in many capacities including as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Stuart was a well-loved father, grandfather, community servant and outdoorsman. He will especially be remembered as a passionate chemistry teacher who combined wry humor with a desire to coax a great intellectual curiosity out of those under his care.
Survivors include two sons, Kendall S. Harmon of Summerville, SC and Randall H. Harmon of Gaithersburg, Md., a nephew, John Jameson of West Chester, Pa., and a niece, Ann Jameson of Alexandria, Va. He also has three grandchildren, Abigail Harmon, Nathaniel Harmon and Selimah Harmon.
A memorial service followed by a reception will take place on April 9, 2016 at 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Summerville, S.C. The Rev. Craige Borrett will officiate and the Rev. Gary Beson will preach. A further service to give thanks for Stu’s life will take place in the summer of 2016 at the Silver Bay Assn. Chapel in Silver Bay, NY, at a date to be announced.
In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that gifts be made to the Silver Bay Assn. Emp Alumni Fellowship Scholarship Fund.
A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jamesadyal.com.
ARRANGEMENTS BY JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, 303 SOUTH MAIN STREET, SUMMERVILLE, SC 29483 (843) 873-4040.
Spent the bulk of the weekend thinking of and remembering Dad. He was a great gift.
Now I am occupied with all the logistics involved in deaths-obituaries, memorial service arrangements, phone calls with family members, flowers, receptions, and on and on.
Pray that I may be Spirit led and keep the big picture. I would also value your prayers for my brother Randy and his wife Barb–KSH.
My father died suddenly on Saturday morning, April 2, 2016. He was 83. The family would be grateful for your prayers.
We are heartbroken and undone here today about losing our black Labrador Retriever of nearly 14 years. In a spontaneous act of sheer frivolity I put a bid in on him at the silent auction at the Coastal Carolina Chaplaincy annual dinner in January of 2002 and he has been with us ever since. It remains amazing that he came home that night with no warning and has been a surprising joy for and integral part of the Harmon five ever since.
He has somehow seen it all–three places to live, the children going from 12, 10 and not quite 9 to where they are now, all three secondary school and College graduations, my changing jobs and parishes to where I am now, Elizabeth earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice at MUSC and then joining the faculty there, three of the four of our own parents passing, and all the current twists, turns and travails of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Diocese of South Carolina.
So many things changed, but except for our faith and our family, he was one of the only true anchors, the ultimate big brother, wagging his tail, astonishingly loyal to each Harmon, glad to be alive and part of it all. The world is a sadder place because he is gone, but we are all the better from having been given God’s gift of Shakan, whose name means to dwell, and dwell with us he did–KSH.
Abigail (left), Semiah (middle), and Nathaniel (right) at Furman University Saturday night.
Mom and dad with the Furman Graduate Selimah in the middle.
Beginning Friday, May 8, Furman University will celebrate the Class of 2015 during its commencement weekend. The commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Paladin Stadium….
You can find the schedule there.
Good morning from western Pennsylvania, where it appears the weather will be nice for the funeral of my Father-in-Law Edward James Deenihan. I am looking forward especially to the full military honors and the bagpipes later. Thanks for your prayers–KSH.
[color=red]The elves are taking the liberty to sticky this in order to remind blog readers to be praying for the Harmon family in these days. We’ll try to keep posting interesting articles while Kendall is unable to blog much.[/color]
The rector with whom I work left for sabbatical yesterday, my Father-in-Law is to be buried in Pittsburgh Wednesday, and our youngest daughter graduates from Furman University–God willing–next weekend. There are not too many weeks I remember on the family front like this one–I know you understand. Posts will be catch as catch can but check back for possible posts of interest from others. Many thanks–KSH.
Edward James Deenihan, Sr., Age 96, passed away on Friday, May 1, 2015. He was the husband of the late Irene (Shaffer) Deenihan; son of the late John and Rose Corey Deenihan; father of John of Chatsworth of California, Edward J. (Kathleen) of Pleasanton, CA, Patrick (Janice) of Reno, NV, Rosemary (Orval) Choate of Nevada City, CA, Elizabeth (Kendall) Harmon of Summerville, SC, Margaret (Mark) Caruso of Sun City West, AZ, and Timothy (Jennifer Paige) of Bridgeport, CT; brother of Margaret Morrison of Ellenton, FL; also 14 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Long ago, while playing a game with friends, Ed Deenihan was asked what should be the title of his biography. Affecting the Irish brogue he knew from his parents, he replied, “He Do And He Don’t.” When asked what the title meant, he simply grinned and said, “You’ll have to read the book!” Family was Ed’s first priority, though his history of service to his community and nation speaks of his commitment to serve one and all. Always quick with a story, he used humor to diffuse the pain of struggles and to celebrate life and its riches. Born February 11, 1919, the first son of Irish immigrants John and Rose (Corey) Deenihan, he grew up through the Great Depression, but when asked about that time would happily explain the concept of dance cards at club socials and tell how a family struggling through a hard time would often wake to find a basket on their stoop with bread or milk or some other necessary staples. He was drafted to the Army during the Second World War. During the time of his service, he was initially attached to a unit charged with breaking an internal black market smuggling ring. After his cover was blown, and he “got the stuffing beat out of me” in the hangar of a Calcutta air base, he was reassigned to the First Air Commando Group in the Chin Hills of what was then known as Burma. Again, his stories remembered the camaraderie and laughter of ‘showering’ in the water runoff under the fuselage of a bomber during the monsoons, or of beating the problem of oppressive heat and tightly rationed refrigeration by securing a few crates of beer in the bomb bay of a B-17 and flying it to a frigid altitude before diving back down to the runway and a base full of thirsty servicemen. Following the war, he returned to Wilmerding and was invited on a blind date where he met Irene Elizabeth Shaffer of Mount Lebanon, PA. They were married July 17, 1948, and were together 63 years until her passing in 2011. In that time, he went to work as a salesman for Goodyear Tire & Rubber and the couple raised seven children on his commission-based salary, even as there were at one point two children in college, two in Catholic high school, two in Catholic grade school, and a newborn. “We ate a lot ground meat and potatoes,” he would remember simply, with a grin. For Ed, hardship was never something worth complaining about, but simply a challenge to be dealt with. He was devout in his Catholic faith, and lived its principles of service to the community. He was an active member of his Catholic parish, involved in the practicalities of worship as well as assisting in the upkeep of the parish. He spent many years volunteering with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, even within months of his death, ministering to individuals and families who had found themselves in hard times. He helped serve the Disabled American Veterans and was a Lifetime Member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH). In 2004 he was named Irishman of the Year by its Pittsburgh Chapter. He was twice elected as a Wilmerding councilman. Edward was visiting his son in Pleasanton, California, where he died peacefully this past Friday morning due to complications surrounding pulmonary fibrosis. His life was one of quiet leadership by example, and his passing will be deeply felt by all who knew him. Friends received at JAMES F. FILIA FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES, 354 Marguerite Ave., Wilmerding on Mon. 6-8 p.m. and Tues. from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. Jude the Apostle Church on Wed. at 10 a.m.
This may be found there.
Edward James Deenihan RIP. pic.twitter.com/03QdJGWmGa
— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) May 1, 2015
My father-in-law died last night, he was 96. When I think of him I think of someone who is the kind of person who held this country together: loyal husband, father, grandfather, Goodyear industrial tire employee, Hibernian society member, and mostly importantly member of his local Roman Catholic Church. He not only attended Bible study and worship regularly, he even (still) participated in spiritual retreats in recent years.
I continue to deny any knowledge whatsoever of the people in this photograph.
Since a number of you were kind enough to inquire, Elizabeth and I went out to eat at the new Five Loaves Cafe in Summerville, South Carolina. For those of who in the South Carolina Lowcountry (or for any who plan to visit) I can recommend it highly–the food, ambience and service were excellent. We later went to the movie Kingsman:The Secret Service–we had heard that is was “fun,” and indeed it was!
No point in pretending–your blog host is 55 today, the above a recent picture at an event in Columbia, South Carolina
(Courtesy of our son Nathaniel Harmon, who now lives and works in NYC).
We took this one just as we were leaving Camp St. Christopher after celebrating our 27th anniversary. What can I say? The children got their mother’s genes.
I deny any knowledge whatsoever of the people in this photograph.
Left to Right: my brother, Randy Harmon, my father, Stuart Harmon, and myself.
Apparently this has been in the works for a year, without my knowledge (but with everyone else in the family in on it). He was sprung on me as a surprise this past Saturday. I am still recovering. 7 weeks old, his name comes from the Hebrew word for comfort which may be found, for example, in Isaiah 40–KSH.
Elizabeth and I at the new 9/11 memorial this past Saturday morning–KSH.
We took him shopping and out for dinner–simple pleasures; KSH.
