Richard L. Harbin

Richard Lee Harbin, of Midway, Tennessee, passed away in the early morning hours of October 26, 2018 at the Johnson City Medical Center. He suffered sudden cardiac arrest after a prolonged battle with kidney failure. He was 64 years old.

A charismatic jack-of-all-trades full of Southern charm, Richard was born on a lucky Friday the 13th in November of 1953 in Louisville, Kentucky. He spent many of his formative childhood years growing up as the precocious, favored grandchild on his grandmother’s seventy-five acre farm in Marengo, Indiana with his father, sister and many extended family members.

In his teenage years, Richard attended Moore High School in Louisville, where he was respected and admired by his peers, known as an easy-going “Joe Cool.” He made many life-long friendships. He was the first drum major in the inception of the school’s marching band and played the trumpet. His zeal for music stayed with him throughout his life.

Louisville may have been his first home but would not be his last. After high school, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving for several years and traveling extensively in the early 1970s. He later left the Air Force and joined the U.S. Navy in the 1980s, where he eventually met his wife Katherine Baker, a young Naval officer.

Once married, Richard made the progressive choice to leave his military service behind and spend many years as a deeply involved and caring, stay-at home father to his son and two daughters while his wife pursued her Naval career. He ran a tight ship. Coming from modest beginnings, in his own family he was proud to stretch a dime to twenty cents. Even still, he knew how to live rich in experiences and generously showed his love with his home cooking. From the mile-high buttermilk biscuits his grandma taught him how to make as a boy, to the spit-roasted pig from the islands he lived on in his military travels, he was quick to welcome any friend or loved one to his table for nourishment. He never strayed far from his proud Southern heritage. He made a mean sausage gravy, loved a good pot of beans and cornbread, and was always happy with breakfast for dinner.

A life-long learner, Richard’s mind was keen and curious. He always saw the possibility in a place or person and he believed strongly in the power of education. He worked diligently at many trades and professions, including several years as an educator, and he doggedly pursued his own education throughout his life, using his GI bill benefits to take night and correspondence classes, eventually earning a B.A. in Business Administration. Proud that he was the first in his family to obtain a bachelor’s degree, Richard strove to instill the value and importance of education in his children.

In later years, when his children had grown and flown, Richard returned to his farm roots. He reinvented himself once again when he and his wife purchased 15 acres of land in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and began farming pastured lamb and eggs and organic fruits and vegetables. He loved his land, his animals, and watching the sun rise and set from the rocking chair of his front porch.

He was quick with a joke, quicker with a compliment, and he could build an instant rapport with everyone who crossed his path. Good deeds came as easy as his smile, and anyone in need could count on him for a sandwich or a ride to their destination.

Guided by his constant faith and his Baptist roots, he spent his later years as an active leader in the Brown Springs Baptist Church as the head of baptismal preparation. Everyone in the church knew and respected him as a man of deep and abiding faith who looked forward to the day that he would be received into his Holy Father’s kingdom.

Farmer, veteran, furniture maker, educator, manager, mentor, husband, father and friend…the hats he wore were as multitudinous as the many iterations of the life he lived. From the sands of the Caribbean and Pacific, the deep snows off the shores of Lake Michigan, to the rolling hills of Appalachia, Richard loved God and his family and lived according to the Golden Rule. His heart was open, his loving kindness, humor, loyalty, charity and charismatic charm marked every life he encountered and left the world a better place.

Richard is survived by his wife of 35 years, Katherine Baker; daughter, Heather Busovsky (Andrew); son, Jason Harbin; daughter, Katie Harbin; three granddaughters, Mila, Ada, and Anya Busovsky; his sisters, Margie Knight (David), Leandra Hughes, and Donnella Putnam; and many extended family members he adopted along the way.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, November 1, 2018 at the Brown Springs Baptist Church, 78 Brown Springs Lane, Mosheim, TN 37818. Viewing from 12-2pm, services at 2pm with Rev. Richard Long, followed by interment in the churchyard.

Should friends desire, flowers are welcome and memorial contributions may be made to the National Kidney Foundation.