Horace H. Harned

1920 - 2017

Horace H. Harned, Jr., departed this life on Sunday, July 2.
A life-long resident of Oktibbeha County, Horace Harned was born at State College, Mississippi, on July 27, 1920.  He attended Starkville public schools and was a 1938 graduate of Starkville High School.  He received the B.S. degree in Geology from Mississippi State University in 1942, with credit from Ohio State University.  He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, ROTC, Blue Key, ODK and the cross-country track team. 
Mr. Harned was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force in November of 1942 and served for four years during WWII, in China and in South and Central America.  He served as liaison officer to CCLS.  While on assignment in the Kweiyang province of China, Harned was one of six U.S. officers issued passports signed by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, for an assignment in Tibet.  Harned's Geodetic crew made photo maps in China, Mexico and South America.  He was given an honorary discharge and retired to the rank of Captain in 1946, as a result of a near-fatal tropical illness contracted in the jungles of South America.
Returning to Oktibbeha County after the war, Harned managed Meadowoods Plantation, the Rice family farm at Oktoc before beginning his own dairy operation.  He had the distinction of putting in the first grade "A" dairy in Oktoc and also developing an outstanding herd of beef cattle.  He was recognized by the Starkville Chamber of Commerce with the Outstanding Dairyman as well as the Outstanding Beef Producer awards. 
In 1951, Harned was elected to fill an unexpired term in the Mississippi Senate, representing Oktibbeha and Choctaw Counties.  In 1952, Harned authored the Mississippi Right to Work Law.  He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1960-1980, during which time he chaired the Universities and Colleges Committee for 12 years and the Select Committee on Higher Education in 1972-73.  During his tenure in the Legislature, Harned was highly influential in the establishment of the School of Architecture and the College of Veterinary Medicine at MSU, the establishment of the Dental School at Jackson, the School of Nursing at MUW as well as preventing the moving of Ole Miss's law school to Jackson.  In an effort to help Mississippi keep pace with other states in higher education, while a member of the State Building Commission, Harned was instrumental in getting such buildings as Humphrey Coliseum, Allen Hall, Bost Extension Center, Herzer Hall, Clay Lyle Entomology Lab, the Cobb Institute and Raspet Flight Ltd., for MSU as well as academic buildings at all other state colleges and junior colleges. 
Harned served as a delegate to the first National State Legislative Leader's conference, July 4, 1976, at Philadelphia, PA.  He was named one of the outstanding leaders in the Mississippi House of Representatives.  In 1978, Harned made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in U.S. Congress. 
During his years of active public service, Harned personally sponsored the "Manion Forum," a weekly radio broadcast featuring Dean Clarence Manion, then professor of constitutional law at Notre Dame University. 
A member of Faith Baptist Church, Mr. Harned was very active in civic and professional clubs, such as Rotary International, American Legion, VFW, 40 & 8, Farm Bureau Association, 14th Air Force Association (Flying Tigers), Oktoc Community Club, and the John Birch Society.
Harned was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Nellie Jean Howell Harned, and his brother Arthur Rice Harned.
He is survived by his four children:  Margaret Ann Chandler of Starkville, Helen Dillard (Jim) of Niceville, FL; Alice Walters (Duane) of Orlando, Florida; and Horace H. Harned III (Song) of Starkville; grandchildren, Will Chandler (Carrie), Meg Chandler Lewis (Richard), Bill Harned, David Harned, Elianna Walters, Nathan Walters, Daniel Walters, and Jenna Dillard and eight great-grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews; siblings Helen Harned Downer and Agnes Beatrice Harned, both of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Wentworth ("Winky") Harned (Marilynn) of Williamsburg, Virginia.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, July 7, at 11 a.m., at Welch Funeral Home, with burial immediately following at Oddfellows Cemetery in Starkville. Visitation hours at Welch Funeral Home will be Thursday evening from 5:00-7:00 p.m. and Friday morning from 10:00-11:00 a.m.
You can leave the family a condolence at: www.welchfuneralhomes.com.