Harvey Mortimer Douthit

Harvey Mortimer Douthit, age 89, passed away peacefully on August 25, 2025 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Harvey was born in Newberg, Oregon on April 13, 1936, to Harvey Mortimer Douthit Sr. and Bertha Mae Rowland. Two weeks after graduating from Newberg High School in 1954, he married Nita June Jackson and they moved to Ketchikan, Alaska where he went to work at the newly opened pulp mill.

Eighteen years and five children later, Harvey moved their family to Soldotna, Alaska and bought a little log cabin on sports lake where they lived an Alaskan lifestyle for the next 53 years and had four generations of family. He worked for Arco and BP as an instrument tech and was part of the Kuparuk oilfield startup. Harvey was a proud member of Ketchikan Lodge #19, Kenai Masonic Lodge #11 F&AM and the Star of the North Chapter #17 Order of Eastern Star.

An outdoorsman and lifelong learner, Harvey lived a life fueled by curiosity, invention, and boundless energy. He was known for taking everything apart to see how it worked, and always having parts left over when it was put back together. But, like a true Sourdough, he could make anything work with duct tape, WD40, and a hammer. He also loved photography and built beautiful scrollwork clocks.

Harvey was a founding member of the Caribou Hills Cabin Hoppers and spent many winters at the Douthit family cabin playing Yahtzee and riding his snowmachine full tilt through the trees. Harvey and Nita took a yearly break from the long Alaskan winter by spending the late spring on the island of Kauai. They often included family, friends or both, and enjoyed golfing, swimming in the ocean and soaking up the sunshine.

Harvey's greatest passion was flying. He always owned some kind of airplane during his lifetime. (Although they were often in pieces). The only thing Harvey enjoyed more than an adventure was telling stories about his adventures which he was still doing up until the end. Everyone who knew Harvey has a favorite tale.

Though, it's a family joke that Harvey never went a day or hour without losing something (keys, hearing aids, teeth, wallet, etc), he never lost track of what mattered to him most - Family, Faith and Friends.

Harvey is survived by his beloved wife of 71 years, Nita, children: Angie Douthit, Butch (Cindy) Douthit, Don (Elizabeth) Douthit, Teri (David) Birchfield; 13 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and many others who lovingly called him "Grandpa Douthit." He was preceded in death by his youngest son, David.