Gary D. Harness Sr.

On May 22,2025, Gary Don Harness left this life to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Gary was born on March 13, 1940, in Stigler, Oklahoma, and raised by his grandparents William and Zinia Kitchens in rural Oklahoma. After high school he joined the U.S. Army, and while serving at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook, he met his true love Mary Carol Beyer of Highlands. They married on May 21, 1960, while he was still in the army, and remained together until her death in 1991, nurturing a loving family in Middletown.
He worked hard to support his family and rose from a part time clerk in the Post Office Department to be a Finance officer in the USPS. He also held many side jobs, working at various times as a house painter, school bus driver and farm custodian. He stayed at the farm long after his retirement from the Postal Service as the manager of Tanglewood Farm in Middletown.
Gary is predeceased by his wife Carol, his mother Mary Kitchens Bull and his father Leamon Harness, his siblings Jimmy Kitchens, Pete Kitchens, Bobby Cava, and Sue Sikes, his second wife Patricia Lindley and his granddaughter Maria Harness. A Roman Catholic convert, Gary was a communicant of St James Church in Red Bank.
He is survived by his children and their spouses; Joe and Victoria Harness, Gary and Wendy Harness, Jeffrey and Tracy Harness, and Gregory and Robyn Harness, his grandchildren Tyler Harness, Brandon Harness, and Brody Harness, his sister-in-law Joan Beyer, his sister and her husband Kay and Jack French, his sister Alice Hasenhager, and his stepson Kevin Stephens.
Gary still read his hometown paper, The Stigler News Sentinel, to keep up with all his friends and relations back in Oklahoma. He was a lifelong Oklahoma Sooner fan. In retirement he continued this great passion by collecting Sooner memorabilia and kitsch, and creating his own OU themed folk art. So evident was his love of his team by these decorations that his home has come to be known as Soonerland.
In lieu of flower donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital