Donald Harting

Donald Harting M.D., M.P.H., who dedicated his career to helping others on the lower Delmarva Peninsula and across the United States, died Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, in Exton following a heart attack. He was 88.

Dr. Harting, or "Doctor Don," as he was affectionately called, was known to many in Salisbury as a founder and the first executive director of the Delmarva Education Foundation (DEF), until his final retirement from public service in 2008. Trained in pediatric medicine and committed to the welfare of children, including his own, he developed a talent for the creative administration of organizations that helped young people, sometimes starting such organizations when needed.

Early Years

Harting was born in Wilmington in 1922. His father, Harry, was the business manager of Harting Sign Co. His mother, Violet, a homemaker, was born in this country, but her brothers were all born in Ireland. As a teenager, Harting was active in the youth group at Westminster Presbyterian Church and in the Boy Scouts. He became an Eagle Scout, and his favorite merit badge was bee keeping. After graduating from the Tower Hill School in Wilmington, he became the first in his family to attend college, earning degrees from Harvard College, Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University.

Public Health Service and NIH

At Harvard, Harting studied biochemistry, swam competitively and served as manager of the glee club. Technically a member of the Class of 1944, Harting graduated in 1943 because semesters were compressed during World War II. He graduated from medical school in 1946 and became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). He interned at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, then moved to Baltimore, where he earned a master's degree in public health from Hopkins. He completed his formal medical training in 1951 with a residency in pediatrics at the School of Medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver.

In Harting's first full-time job in Chicago as regional medical director of the Children's Bureau, he showed some of the administrative creativity he later became known for. He established an interagency program in which the U.S. Selective Service referred young men to public health clinics if they failed the military draft for health reasons. Soon after, he helped create a federal program to provide health care for the children of migrant laborers who would otherwise be ineligible for services that required state residence. The capstone of his career in the federal government was helping to launch the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda. A 1950 law limited creation of new institutes to those focusing on a disease or groups of diseases, so part of Harting's job became persuading key members of Congress to amend the law. In 1965, he received the PHS Meritorious Service Medal for his "superior personal capabilities and significant professional contributions in establishing the Institute." Harting retired from the PHS in 1966 with the rank of captain. He then served for several years as a consultant in the family planning field to organizations in Washington and New York City. Following the death of his father in 1962, Harting also helped his cousins manage the family business in Wilmington, eventually launching Harting Graphics, which served customers in the Wilmington area from 1979-2008.

Second Career

Seeking new challenges in local public health, Harting started his first job on Delmarva in 1973 as assistant health officer for program development for the Maryland counties of Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester. Soon after, he was appointed Worcester County health officer, a position he held for 14 years. He helped start the Ocean City Youth Health Center, which was designed to keep summer restaurant workers — and by extension, their customers — healthy. In 1987, he retired again, as part of a dispute with the state of Maryland regarding safe sewage disposal for new housing developments.

Retired or not, Harting continued to focus on helping other Delmarva residents. He became a trustee of the Hudson Center, a private, nonprofit addiction treatment facility in Salisbury that serves the tri-county area. Among his other interests, he was a partner in the Salisbury Bulls investment club, a member of the finance committee at St. Peter's Episcopal Church and the first and only male executive director of the Eastern Shore chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. During the 1990s, Harting ventured into private enterprise again, assembling a group of investors to purchase a Sylvan Learning Center franchise.

Giving Back

Always sensitive to the connections between child development and education, and wanting to help others as he had been helped — especially with scholarships — Harting teamed up with other like-minded residents and created DEF. His vision was to serve the seven-county, three-state area of lower Delmarva as one region and find common ground between all sectors of the education and business communities. As of 2011, DEF has been providing resources for students for more than a decade.

Family Life

Harting's first wife and the mother of his children was the former Katherine Hammond of Bronxville, N.Y. They met in college and were married from 1945-72. Kit died in 2002. While raising their children in Chevy Chase, Md., the Hartings vacationed in Rehoboth Beach, where they enjoyed sunbathing, swimming and fishing. Harting was a devoted father who was very involved in his children's (and later his stepchildren's) lives. They remember him for his wisdom and generosity in support of their educations. In 1978, he married the former Shirley Wheatley, who supported his public service work and helped him care for their large, combined family. The couple took great pleasure in entertaining their grandchildren at home in Wicomico County and on vacations in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. Shirley died in 2006. In 2009, Harting moved to Exton, where he was cared for by the staff of Sunrise Senior Living, Neighborhood Hospice and family members.

Survivors

Harting is survived by his sister, Alice Bullough of St. Andrews, Scotland; four children, Jennifer Harting Christian and her husband, David Siktberg, of Boston, Katherine Ann Harting of Princess Anne, Margaret Harting Moore and her husband, Steven, of Lititz, Pa., and Donald Markham Harting and his wife, Laura, of Downingtown, Pa.; three stepchildren, Barbara Wheatley Cole and her husband, Robert, of Cambridge, Donald Wheatley and his wife, Kim, of Baltimore, and Robert Wheatley of Stevensville, Md.; 18 grandchildren and stepgrandchildren, Samuel Clark, Peter Mackey and Anne Lindsay Christian, Owen Harting and Katherine Leone Harting Travers, Rebecca Lynn Moore Sempsrott, Cassandra Lee Moore Bowers, Tobias James Moore, Daniel Richard Speorl, Nathanael Bray Harting, Christopher and Zachary Cole and Nicole, Jessica, Lauren, Michelle, Brandon and Taylor Wheatley; and three great-grandchildren, Ethan, Luke and Daria Sempsrott.

Services and Donations

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Peter's Episcopal Church at 115 St. Peter's St. in Salisbury. The Rev. Todd W. Kissam will officiate, assisted by the Rev. Dr. David C. Tontonoz. By special request, there will be no eulogy, but remembrances will be welcomed at the reception afterward. Interment of ashes after the service will be in Parsons Cemetery in Salisbury. In lieu of flowers, donations to DEF are suggested. Calling hours will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday at Holloway Fune