Herbert Arthur Harmison's Obituary
Herbert A. Harmison Jr. aged 88, passed away at Green Hills on March 5, 2022 in Ames. A memorial service will be at Green Hills, 2205 Green Hills Drive, Ames on Sunday March 13 at 2:00 pm. Please note daylight savings comes into effect, and masks are required to be worn at Green Hills. Herbert (Herb) was born on July 15, 1933 in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of Herbert Sr and Adeline Harmison. He graduated from the prestigious Culver Military Academy in Culver Indiana in 1951, then attended Iowa State University where he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1962, and earned his Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1968, also from ISU. Herb married Esther Hunter on April 23, 1955 in Sioux City, Iowa and they enjoyed 62 years of marriage before Esther's passing in May, 2017. Herb served in the U.S. Army, and later in the Iowa National Guard, achieving the rank of Brigadier General. He was stationed in Colorado and Germany before returning to Iowa to attend ISU. Following Herb's graduation in 1962 he worked for the Berkeley Company in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Upon receiving his Masters degree he then enjoyed a distinguished teaching career at Iowa State as an Associate Professor, then Head Placement Director for the Engineering College. Herb and his staff helped countless ISU graduates secure employment in the engineering field and he received many awards and accolades for his work and was well respected by all who worked with him. He also served as president of the Midwest College Placement Association, was active in the Delta Upsilon Fraternity house and was the faculty adviser for both the Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers. Herb finished his working career at the University of Minnesota, serving as its IT Placement Director. Throughout his life Herb always found time for his family and was a devoted husband and father. He reveled in working in his shop, both at Wood Street in Ames where the family grew up, and later at Meadow Glen Road. He was forever tinkering with cars, working with wood and maintaining and fixing whatever needed to or could be fixed. His natural curiosity would not allow him to simply give up on anything that looked beyond hope, and his shop was always filled with items under repair. Indeed there is a living example of his work still in use at Meadow Glen in the form of a 1936 toaster that Herb repaired many times over, and his children have kept it going more recently! While not a passionate sportsman, he did play basketball at Culver and during his freshman year at ISU. He was an avid sailor and had a great love of music evidenced by his impressive collection of classical albums. He passed on his love of all these endeavors to his four children, Kathy becoming a professional musician and teacher, Chuck a professional basketball player and administrator, Dave enjoying a long career in engineering at Ford Motor Co. and Mark as a software engineer. They all four loved to sail as well and enjoyed countless hours on the water during the family's annual trips to Valhalla Resort in far northern Minnesota. Herb had the same avid interest in the lives of his grandchildren and great grandchildren as he did in his own children, loving them and encouraging them to follow their passions and dreams and view the world with as much wonder as he did. In "retirement" Herb remained active in the community, serving on the board of Heartland Senior Services, and many other community organizations. His last few years at Green Hills were spent helping his fellow residents and serving on several committees, where his unrelenting desire to make things better for those around him was unceasing. His phone never stopped ringing with questions from people who were stuck with a computer problem or an IT issue, and if he didn't know the answer, he made it his mission to research and find a solution. This was his passion and he truly enjoyed helping others. Herb is survived by his four children, Kathy (Steve) Andrews of Ames, Chuck (Leanne) Harmison of Woonona, Australia, Dave (Sandy) Harmison of Milan, Michigan, and Mark (Lisa) Harmison of Ames; grandchildren Meredith Stuart (Jonathan Schuster), Amy (Jeff) Hudson, Mitchell Harmison, Tigon (Ben) Woline, Mike Harmison, two great grandsons, Riorden and Weston, four great grand daughters Mirela, Delores, Harriet and Adeline and seven step grandchildren including Kim, Brian, Ronnie and Tim Miner. Herb was preceded in death by his parents, sister Mary Rosene, and, of course, his wife Esther.
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