Jerry Harmon
The Harmon family is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Jerry Robert “Curly” Harmon. He passed away peacefully in his sleep after a long, hard fought battle against cancer. His wife, Lisa, lovingly cared for him at home and was at his side until the last moment. He will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.
Per his wishes there will be no formal services. He wanted his family and friends to come together for a Celebration of Life. Therefore, our family is inviting everyone who knew and loved Curly to join us sometime during an “open house” celebration, Friday, November 18, from 4-9, at The Timbers of Eureka, 1 Coffey Park, Eureka, MO. (Across from the Legends).
We hope you will come and visit with old friends and make some new ones. Bring your best Curly stories and photos. The dress code is “Curly Casual” – Flannel shirt hanging out, blue jeans, loafers and a ball cap. The youngest son of the late Lucille and Robert Harmon of Ellisville. Jerry is survived by his loving wife Lisa, son Mark, daughter Jane Harmon-Marchi, her husband Danny and their beautiful new baby Clara Grace. He is also survived by his brother Gary “Tex” Harmon and wife Jean Harrison of Edwardsville, IL.
Jerry was a lifetime resident of St. Louis County. He graduated from Lafayette High School in 1967 and the University of Missouri in 1971 with a degree in business. Jerry had a long and successful career that began as a manager with 905 Liquors before moving on to Lincoln Engineering as a manager and Lunar Tool as a master machinist. For the past 25 years, he was a Mechanical Engineer at McDonnell-Douglas-Boeing where he worked on the F-18 and C-17 aircraft lines.
Jerry’s intelligence, mild manner and work ethic gained him the admiration, respect and friendship of his many coworkers. He was always the first to volunteer and lend a hand to any family or friend who needed help. Jerry loved his role as husband and father. His easy-going nature was well suited to the demands of raising children and supporting their many needs and activities in a calm and understanding manner. As his health declined last summer he was very worried he would not get to meet his first grandchild, but he did, and was able to enjoy being with Clara Grace for several months.
Jerry loved sports. He participated in Khoury League baseball from a young age and was an outstanding shortstop. He was always a big fan of Cardinal baseball and football and supported the Rams too. But he, along with many others, always cheered on his beloved Mizzou Tigers. Jerry was an avid golfer and had a long time love of the game. He worked hard to improve his game over the years and is the namesake of the “Annual Curly Harmon Golf Tournament” that was held at any golf course foolish enough to have him and his friends on their links. The “Curly Bowl” was another nod to his sportsmanship. Although he loved to be doing things outdoors, the winter months saw the rise of a long standing round-robin beer and poker night several times a month with 8-10 of his best friends.
In the end he will be remembered as a loving, reliable, warm hearted, easy going guy with a good sense of humor and a quick smile. He was rock-steady in his care for family, friends and co-workers. Jerry was the perfect example of a life well lived. There was never a more honest and genuine person.
Donations may be made to either the Siteman Cancer Center (https://siteman.wustl.edu/contribute/giving/siteman-development-office/) or to BJC Hospice (http://www.bjchospice.org/Donate.aspx).
I know Jerry through working with him at McDonnell Douglas / Boeing. I appreciated Jerry’s desire to help others, his ability to see clearly what needed to be done and not waste time on peripheral or foo foo stuff. I enjoyed talking “shop” with Jerry because I always wanted to learn how to do metal cutting, even though I never really did, and I looked forward to his stories of buying a new piece of machinery for his collection, or hearing about his latest tractor repair needs.
I always teased him about the number of post-it notes he used in his office area / cubicle. Now my desk walls are often covered in a similar manner with post-it notes as I can’t rely on memory as much any more.
May God grant to you his family and friends peace at this difficult time.
Curley I hope we meet again in the next life. Thanks for being you. I’m grateful for your machinist help and laid back personality. I still have the cheaters award from the golf classic,—- my first golf game, the Cheat Cheat Loffler Award in-memory of you and friends,and life…., JERRY until we meet again. My thoughts to your family. KLC
My deepest gratitude to the Harmon family for a beautiful and moving tribute for Jerry.
The quiet, gentle smiling man that made everyone feel happy and special for calling him my friend.
There is a hole in the world tonight……….
I met Jerry back in the early 1970’s where he, Danny Lamb, Dick Bush and I believe Tom Sehnert rented Lacy Ford’s old house on Old Olive Street Rd near Wild Horse Creek Rd. I recall the first time I went in the house, there was a big black bull’s eye painted on the living room ceiling (caught my eye). What a great group of guys! Jerry was easy going and a joy to be around. He always had that Jerry grin that I came to know so well when I would see him at work. What a great guy and he will surely be missed by all that knew him. Till we meet again – God Bless You!
I’ve had the privilege to call Curly my dear friend for over sixty years. We first met in second grade and became fast friends. There were the camping nights in the backyard, sandlot ball at the old ballpark in Ellisville, then Khoury League team mates. He was our shortstop for the “Mudcats”, and a damn good one too! There was a slow easy grace in the way he played, very few errors, just solid play. It was a prelude to the way he led the rest of his life. We carried our baseball playing into our twenties. Along the way we picked up sandlot football, golf, and he was always my float trip partner.
In 1971, Curly ( or “Chick” as he was known to his college buddies) finished college. “Lil Bill” and I were out of the army, so we three shared a house in Chesterfield. Later we moved in with Sehnert..whether he liked it or not. What wonderful years we had ! Our group of friends had more fun than any one bunch should have had. Hog roasts, canoe trips, Kentucky Derby’s, “Curly Harmon” golf tournament’s and the “Curly Bowl” football games. Name another person that’s had two sporting event’s named for him…
I think anyone that spent some time with Curly at one time or another, had the urge to nudge him to make sure he was still breathing. But behind that slow easy gait and laid back persona, there was a determined competitor at the poker table or on the golf course.
He was meticulous in any task, honest and a loyal friend……
Good bye my old friend, I will always miss your silent laugh.
Red
West St. Louis County and Ellisville were very rural in the 1950’s and 1960’s before small towns like Pond, Grover and Glenco became the Wildwood subdivisions and shopping centers we know today.
We entered Ellisville Grade School in 1956, Jerry in second grade and me in 4th. One year, Tom Keller, our principal had T-shirts printed with a round logo with EGS in bold type in the center. Jerry, Danny Lamb and some others quickly began calling it the “EGG” school. They laughed and giggled about that for years. I don’t know how long the name stuck after we all left but I think Mr. Keller changed that logo soon after. Those boys were always inventing their own fun. Lifelong friendships go back the “EGG” school.
Jerry loved animals, especially cats. The grade school was only half a mile from home so we walked in nice weather and road Mr. Dempsy’s school bus in bad weather. One day as we were walking home we noticed someone had dumped a litter of kittens in the ditch at the end of our street. Must have been five or six of them, very tiny and all squalling. Our friends began picking them up and heading for home. Jerry stood there and watched until only the smallest grey scruffy one remained.
He turned and looked at me with those big beautiful blue eyes and said “Do you think Mom will let me keep him?” I said we already have a cat, a dog and two horses so I guess another barn cat might be OK and I took off for home with him looking at the cat. He still had not picked it up.
A few minutes after I got home Mom asked where was Jerry. “Coming along”, I said. A few minutes later we watched Jerry slowly coming down the street…shuffle…wait…shuffle…wait.
“What is he doing?”. she asked. “You’ll see”, my reply. The curb was high enough to hide the kitten behind him until he turned down the drive.
She smiled and Jerry asked, “Mom can I keep him? He followed me home”.
Cute kid…cute cat…true story. How could she say no.
Maple Lane was the farthest west subdivision in the county at the time. It is hard to believe that we used to ride our bikes down the middle of old two lane Manchester Road, west of Ellisville, during the day. Old State, Strecker, Valley, Clayton, 109 and other roads were more bike and horse paths in those days and we made good use of them.
Maple Lane was full of great families and more kids than you could count. Again, many life long friends were made there. Jerry’s non-judgemental and friendly nature made him popular with all the kids at school and in the neighborhood. Everyone wanted to be his friend.
Summer evenings were spent with a dozen friends running from yard to yard playing hide and seek, capture the flag and or night kickball. After begging for many “ten more minutes” extensions, Jerry was always the last to come in.
On summer mornings it wasn’t unusual for as many as 8-10 of us to take off on an all day bike hike.
Jerry loved being outdoors and was usually the organizer of these outings. Mom would make peanut butter sandwiches, fill our Scout canteens with Kool-Aide, throw in an apple, ask where we were going and tell us to be home by dinner. We would have a grand time save the occasional flat tire that we would fix at Jacob’s Shell station where the Walgreen’s is now at the corner of Manchester and Hutchingson.
We would visit with old Mr. Jacobs while he just sat and chewed his “tobacy”. He didn’t wait on us, we just helped ourselves to to what ever candy and soda we wanted and made our own change from the pile of money he left on the counter! We would sit on the bench out front dumping M & M’s into our Pepsi’s and trying to drink the soda before it foamed over. We would wait for the occasional vehicle to pass by hoping it would be some thing cool like a convertible, a big truck or motorcycle.
When we were older Jacob’s was our one stop shop for BB’s, pellets, 22 shells and shotgun shells. No ID, no questions, just get what you want and leave the money… or next time if you were short.
Building tree houses,woodland “forts”, and exploring every creek, spring, woodlot and friend within 10 miles of home was his passion. Any apple orchard was fair game.
We would travel as far as Glenco, Rockwoods Reservation, Babler Park and sometimes even tour Wild Horse Creek Road…but that was a real hike.
In the winter we had a hot line to all of our friends and as soon as it snowed deeply enough to sled, hopefully on a school snow day, there would be 15-20 kids on the hill in the pasture behind our house. Jerry was always the first there and last to leave the hill. If we got going early enough, before the salt truck got to it, we would go down the long hill on Valley Road to Sharon and Barry Rickel’s house. That hill was really fun after an ice storm!
Boy Scouting was an important activity for boys in a small town that didn’t have things like swimming pools, movie theaters and theme parks. Weeks spent at Camp May in Beaumont Scout Reservation were great fun. There was a pool and we used it twice a day. Mud Cave was a must go to every year. It was coated with a rusty red sticky mud that stained your clothed so bad no amount of washing could get out. Needless to say Jerry always looked the worst after exiting the cave.
Weekend scout camping took place at a variety of local parks and at our Scout Master Bill Dillon’s farm in Castlewood. On Sunday we would make a Mulligan Stew last meal with everything we had leftover. One kid had caught a snake on Saturday and let it go later. On Sunday us older kids told the younger ones that we put the snake in the stew. We hoped they would be grossed out enough not to eat anything and leave more for us.
Jerry took one look at me, knew I was lying and was first in line for what thereafter became known as “Dillon Farm Snake Stew”. We tried the same story on the new kids each year. Yum.
No matter how we traveled or where, Jerry always arrived home with the most bumps, scrapes, bruises, cuts, scratches, chiggers, ticks, torn clothes and mud on him. Mom would smile because she knew he probably had the most fun.
Jerry’s greatest passion as a boy was baseball. Dad painted a strike box on the basement wall and all winter you could hear Jerry “whapping” a ball on that wall. I think, like every kid, he really wanted to be a pitcher but his real talent was at shortstop. He was pretty much Ozzie Smith without the back flip. Danny Lamb was a great catcher. Jim Simpson and Mike Miller among others were good friends on the team. Dad also coached for many years and always insisted that each boy got to play at least a few innings in each game. Not every coach did this in those days. Some kids on other teams would sit on the bench game after game if they weren’t the best players. This rule probably cost the Mudcats more that a few games but Bob always knew they wouldn’t get any better if they didn’t play.
I think Jerry got his sense of fair play in sports from Dad.
The nearest swimming pool was Holiday Valley in Kirkwood. Mom would load up the car with kids for swimming on her day off. She never learned how to swim and years later she told me how stressed out she would be keeping track of 6-7 kids in a large pool filled with people. Tim and Gerri Carpenter lived two house down and their dad Joe would also take us to the pool on his day off. How many kids can you stuff in a Ford. Never counted, but the big kids got in first and the little kids sat between the their legs. Off we would go, probably 8-10 of us, no a/c, no seat belts, just lots of sweat, laughs and Joe’s never ending entertaining stories.
Ellisville was a great place to grow up. But any place would have been great for me with my little brother at my side. Lu and Bob always told us to never fight and and always look out for each other and we would be friends forever. They were right as always. We took that lesson to heart and remained best friends until the end.
So with many tears and much sadness I say goodby to my baby brother and will always remember the good times we had.
I’ll end with the old sailors send off, “May you travel with fair winds and following seas my brother”.
With all my love..your big brother, Tex.
Some of the best times I ever had have been at Jerry and Lisa’s house. I will always remember Jerry’s calm way about him. I truly think just about every single person that knew Jerry LOVED him. Very easy going,so fun to party with. He put up with Lisa’s and my Halloween addiction. We took over his work shop with all the Halloween prop’s. There was hardly any room for his machines. He was always master of the hayrides. He always had that great smile and twinkle in his eyes. I also remember the time Lisa and Jerry were gone and said they would be home a little while later and for us to go ahead and start the swimming party and they would catch up with us a little later. By the time they got home there were about 10 naked women in his pool. I will never forget the giagantic SMILE on his face!!! Thanks Jerry for the beautiful man you were and always will be. I am so glad you are in many many of the best memories I will ever have. I can truly say you are one of the finest people I have ever met. Much Love to you and your beautiful family. Lisa Ashley
I was really heart sicken today when I found out that Jerry has passed away. I new him from Ellisville School the little snot nose brother of “Tex”. We all grew up together threw many memories of him. I was so found of Jerry and everyone will miss him dearly especially Tex. My love and prayers go out to his family and friends.
Love, Susie
I first met Coach when our sons were 8 or 9. For the next six years with Jerry we had an opportunity to not only spend spring and summers with our boys, but I got to have a great friendship with perhaps one of the best guysI’ve ever met. Coach was just the best with a flannel shirt and a Diet Pepsi in hand. I will miss him deeply and value the memories. Cary Schuman
I worked with Jerry at McD/Boeing. We had some good laughs during our production line walks. RIP Jerry. God bless your family.
Sheree
I was a new employee at Boeing, sitting just across a small aisle from Jerry. He helped me numerous times and made my learning and days more enjoyable. Whenever I would ask for some help, he would say give me a few minutes and would always pull out something helpful out of his filing cabinet. he also had stories of woodworking and “interesting” neighbors. We miss him, but also continue to use the many things he taught us here at work. May God bless his family and friends during this time.
It’s a sad farewell to one of the first friends that I remember having. Jerry and I were in the same grade in school so we went through grade school through high school together and even were on the same dorm floor our first year in college. We were on the same little league baseball team and in the same Boy Scout troop. I always enjoyed being around Jerry. He made people feel comfortable when they were with him. I used to enjoy going to his house and being part of the neighborhood activities. I particularly remember one long bicycle ride we made through west St Louis county, stopping at a handy creek to have a swim while we were at it. I lost touch with Jerry in later years but did get to participate a few times at the end in the Curly Harmon Golf Classic. He always made it a point to come and talk to me. I’ll miss Jerry’s sense of humor and ready smile. God’s peace to Jerry’s family and friends in our loss.