Richard Lee Harmon

Richard Lee ("Bud") Harmon, a resident of Portland, CT for over 60 years and the beloved husband of the late K. Jean (Treese) Harmon, passed away at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT on January 10, 2023. Born August 12, 1934 on top of the dining room table at his maternal grandmother's farm in Armstrong County, PA, Bud is the older of the two sons of Marion and Della (Shick) Harmon. He attended schools in Sugar Valley and in Marion Center, PA, graduating from Marion Center High School, after which married his wife on January 1, 1955, and served for two years in the US Army, including a posting at an army base in Germany where his wife was able to join him. Upon their return to the US in 1956, they relocated from western Pennsylvania, initially to Garfield Heights, Ohio, and then in 1962 to Portland, Connecticut, where he has lived since. He worked in the stamping and tool-and-die industry, first for Dayton Progress Corporation in Dayton, OH, and then after 1980, as a co-owner of Har/Mac in Milford, CT. He was quite successful with his co-owned business and he and his partner were able to sell this business and retire in the 1990s.

Bud is survived by two sons, Bradley Lee Harmon of Cabot, AR, and Mark David Harmon of San Mateo, CA; two grandchildren, Richard Lee Harmon II (and his wife Courtney) of Portland, CT and Lisa Nicole Harmon of Conway, AR; four great-grandchildren, Ethan, Breana, Jacob and Samuel; one brother, Marion Newton Harmon (and his wife Ruth) of Corfu, NY; and the many nieces, nephews and cousins of his very large extended family. Bud was preceded in death by his wife, by his parents, and by his son-in-law, Ed Louie (Mark's partner). He was very much devoted to his family and loved his family very much, and they were devoted to him and loved him deeply.

Bud and his wife traveled extensively, especially after his retirement in the 1990s. Even while he was working, there were annual family fishing vacations to Quebec when his sons were boys, as well as regular trips to western Pennsylvania to see and visit with extended family. Bud and his wife were able to travel to all fifty states and to many of the Canadian provinces, all with an emphasis on the outdoors and visits to national, state and provincial parks. He was a hunter and made an annual trip to the family hunting camp in Elk County PA to be with and hunt with his father, uncles, brother, son, and nephews. Bud also had a life-long passion for fishing, taking his wife and sons on many fishing trips with a small boat he purchased in the 1960s. After he retired, he became an avid local hiker, enthusiastically participating in frequent hikes offered by the Portland-based Meshomasic Hiking Club as well as doing day-hikes on his own of sections of the Appalachian Trail in the northeast.

Calling hours and services will be held in Connecticut at the Portland Memorial Funeral Home, 231 Main Street, Portland, CT on Wednesday evening, January 18, from 5-7 p.m. Bud will be cremated, and his and his wife's ashes will both be interred at a family plot at Mt. Zion Cemetery (Beautiful Lookout) in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The date of the interment in Pennsylvania has not yet been set by the family, but will likely occur in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to the Portland United Methodist Church, PO Box 459, Portland, CT 06480-0459; or to the Middlesex Land Trust, deKoven House, 27 Washington St, Middletown, CT 06457 (and online at https://middlesexlandtrust.org/). Written condolences may be sent to the family home at 9 Hale Rd, Portland, CT 06480-1113.