William “Bill” F. Harkins II, of Palm Coast, died peacefully at home on the morning of February 18, 2019. He was 69 years old.
He is survived by his wife of 40 years Donna (Poggio) Harkins; his children and their significant others, Rachel (Harkins) and Tobias Thuerk, Caitlin Harkins and her fiancé Jeffery Ryba, Mallory Harkins and her fiancé Bradley Durst, Devin Harkins and Jordan Bellomy, Jennifer Harkins and Michael Mazzarella, and William F. Harkins III and Antonella (Spina) Harkins; his grandchildren Leopold, Sofia, Olivia, Theodor, and Annegret; his mother Jeanne (Henry) Harkins; his sister and her husband Judith (Harkins) and Lance Kincaid; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. He is predeceased by his father William F. Harkins, Sr.
He was born in Ozone Park, Queens, NY to Jeanne and William F. Harkins and grew up in Huntington, Long Island. He attended Walt Whitman High School, where, in addition to being named Class Clown, he excelled in wrestling, football, and lacrosse, eventually playing lacrosse at the collegiate level for University of Maryland before transferring to New York Institute of Technology to finish his college education.
Always eager for a new adventure and hungry for success, he worked many different jobs over his lifetime, including as a construction worker, air marshal, drug rehabilitation coordinator, boxing manager, real estate developer, and lacrosse coach. Of these, he certainly loved lacrosse the most, and in his later years was more frequently referred to as Coach than Bill. He spent many of his happiest years coaching lacrosse in Florida, first as an assistant coach at Flagler Palm Coast High School and later as head coach of the Florida State University Men’s Lacrosse Team. He will forever be memorialized by Bill Harkins Field at FSU, where the lacrosse teams now play and the Marching Chiefs practice. Additionally, he coached the German National Men’s Lacrosse Team in several international competitions.
Things that brought him great joy include aviation, athletics, classic cars, ice cream, and Donna’s cooking. He was an avid pilot, who earned his commercial license and owned many classes of airplanes in his years of flying. And, though he lived in Florida for the last 20 years, he carried on his love of New York sports, especially the Yankees and the Giants. He also loved playing golf and driving around town in his many classic cars. Though, the thing that made him smile widest was the sight of his favorite meal, lasagna, made for him by his wife, with a big bowl of ice cream for dessert.
All who knew him would agree that he was an intense man, who lived and loved fiercely. He worked hard but also enjoyed getting away from it all, spending his leisure time at lake houses first in Maine and later in South Carolina, boating, jet-skiing, tubing, and water skiing. More than anything, he loved grand gestures and big events. He was generous with his enthusiasm and often celebrated those he loved in big ways, from a surprise 40th birthday party for his wife, to box seats for his closest friends and family at the NCAA lacrosse championships, to blow out parties for his children’s communions, sweet 16s, and weddings. His intensity mellowed as he aged, and he will be fondly remembered by his grandchildren as a doting and goofy grandfather, lovingly referred to as Coach.
A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2019 from 1:30-4:30pm at the Palm Coast Community Center at 305 Palm Coast Pkwy NE. In lieu of flowers the family requests that any donations be made to the Diabetes Institute Research Foundation: https://www.diabetesresearch.org/
The family of Mr. Harkins entrusted the arrangements to Clymer Funeral Home.
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