Thomas Everett Harvard, a longtime Corpus Christi resident and familiar patron of local music venues, died peacefully at his home on Wednesday, September 7. Despite a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease, he enjoyed a happy, healthy life until his final days in home hospice care. He was 92.
Tom (or Tommy as he was known to family members) was born in Pinehurst, Georgia, on February 28, 1929,the third of five siblings of Eva Mae Sheffield Harvard and Everett McGehee Harvard. The family moved to Corpus Christi in 1936. Tom attended David Hirsch Elementary School, Wynn Seale Junior High, and Corpus Christi High School, where he played varsity football and met his first wife, Sara LaVon Regenold Harvard, whom he married in 1950, and second wife, Mary Jo Gallagher, whom he married in 1989.
While attending Del Mar College, where he excelled in art and drafting, Tom joined the United States Marine Corps Reserves and was called to duty during the Korean Conflict. He served as a draftsman and was stationed in Camp Pendleton, California, where his son, Mark Porter Harvard, was born in 1951. His daughter, Lori Kay Harvard, was born in Corpus Christi in 1953.
After his service in the Marines, Tom worked as a draftsman and surveyor for Sun Oil Company. When the company relocated the office to Dallas in 1971, he joined Sun colleagues Harry Warren and John Lynch to form Warren & Sons, a land surveying firm that specialized in mapping ranch boundaries and staking well locations in the South Texas oil fields. He and Warren continued to work until the sale of the company in 2015. In addition to his work as a surveyor, Tom freelanced as a draftsman for local real estate developers and designed several houses in Corpus Christi.
Although he wasn’t born in Corpus Christi, Tom was a proud citizen who loved the city, the bay, and the South Texas landscape. He had endless stories about having free rein to explore the city as a boy, and every building, street, and local landmark brought back vivid memories and evoked stories of occurrences specific to the site. Well into his late eighties, he would take long walks around the city. He loved being outdoors and was well known to his neighbors for his meticulous lawn and yard care, one of his greatest pleasures in life.
More than anything, Tom loved live music and dancing. He played classical, folk, and country guitar and enjoyed attending live music performances from an early age. He had stories about seeing touring jazz legends in Corpus Christi clubs as a teenager. He loved the night life and continued to go out to clubs several nights a week until a few years ago. He attended almost every Texas Jazz Festival and was a regular at the Executive Surf Club, where he could be found dancing in front of the stage.
Tom is preceded in death by his parents, sister Mary Harvard Carter, and son Mark.
He is survived by his wife, Mary; sister Jean Lauderdale Harvard; brothers Lee and Larry Harvard; daughter Lori Harvard Whitlock; stepdaughters Mary Jones and Laura Placker; grandchildren Luke Dunlap, Sara-ann Dunlap Groff (Ian Groff), Anne Jo Lee Hill, Aaron Granberry; great-grandchildren Eleanor Groff and Eli Groff; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Tom’s family members express their heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Darr and the nurses at El Cielo Hospice for their compassionate care.
Services are entrusted to Funeraria Del Angel-Everhart, 4901 Everhart Road, Corpus Christi, Texas.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CageMillsFuneralDirectors.com for the Harvard family.
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.5