Gary Lee Harmon

Gary was born in Aurora, Nebraska on August 16, 1935 to Verle and Ester Koberstein Harmon. He was raised in Hastings, Nebraska by his mother and stepfather, Vyrle Uehling. He was an eager and exceptional student, completing high school at 16 and graduated from Hastings College in 1956 with a degree in English Literature and History. His quest for knowledge soon led him to Indiana University where he went on to earn 3 graduate degrees.

He began his long and satisfying career at Flint Community College in 1960 and by 1966 he had earned his Ph.D. from IU as well. He then accepted the Division Chair position at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where he established the Division of Language, Literature and Philosophy. Always looking to new horizons, he went on to the Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where he chaired the Division of Language and Literature and headed up the English Department until 1971.

1971 brought a founding position at the University of North Florida and the establishment of the College of Language and Literature. There he served as the Chair of the Department for many years. Gary’s favorite courses were American Studies and Film as Literature. A highlight of that course was a two week adventure in Beijing, China, where he explored and exchanged cultural ideals about the film, Seabiscuit. Throughout his career, he was able to use his many diverse talents and his expansive knowledge to write and give many papers across the world, write and publish books with long time collaborators and friends, and serve in many positions at the universities that called upon his long term experience as a negotiator and educational professional. Gary earned a Sabbatical in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, also a cultural exchange of music, art and literature. In addition, Gary served as Chapter Union President of United Faculty of Florida for 1 year. Upon retiring in 2007, Gary was designated a Founding Emeritus Faculty member for many years of service.

In Gary’s retirement years, he enjoyed traveling and exploring with his wife, Debbie. Favorite times were spent hiking in the Southwest, the mountains of North Carolina, and walking the sands of Daytona Beach at Sea Club IV each January. Earlier travels included exploring Italy, France, Austria, Great Britain and a family castle in Ireland. Playing golf was Gary’s passion and many days were spent on the course with his faithful Yorkie, Bojangles, who also had the high esteem of riding along as his “Sports Psychologist”. Gary volunteered his time and talents at the Mandarin Museum and Historical Society, sharing stories of families who lived and worked in old Mandarin during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Among his other interests, Gary sang in the JSO Symphony Chorus.

Gary is survived by his wife of 25 years, Debbie and his three sons, Tom (Jamie), James (Patti) and Nathan (Karen) Harmon; his grandchildren, TJ, Tyler, Ashley, Jenna and Lexy Harmon; his step children, Debbie Nolen, Missy Evans, Laura (Mike) Phillips, Eddie Crouch, and David (Jennifer) Crouch; his step grandchildren, Farris and Wright Nolen, Logan and Hayden Evans, Mallory (Ruben) Bosque, Caroline and Gracie Phillips, Brooke and Madison Crouch; and his great grandchildren, Noah and Benjamin Bosque. Gary is also survived by Suzanne Hough, the mother of his three children.

A Celebration of Gary’s life will be held at 2:00pm on May 16, 2016 at All Saints Episcopal Church, 4171 Hendricks Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32207. Contributions may be given in Gary’s name to the Thomas G. Carpenter Library at UNF, 1 UNF Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32224.