Frank Hunter Harvey

Frank Harvey Obituary

HARVEY, Frank Hunter Age 66 of Candler, NC. November 7, 2009. Born September 29, 1943, he was preceded in death by his father, Frank Tate Harvey. Survived by his mother, Annie Sue Harvey, Hermitage, TN; sisters, Sue Ella Harrison, Dallas, TX, Bettie Ann Shepherd (David), Hermitage, TN; nephews and nieces, Clyde Kapp III (Carolyn) and Wendy Cranford (Wayne), West Monroe, LA, Susanne Shepherd Frisch and Michael Shepherd (Sarah), Nashville, TN; and four great-nieces and nephews. A 1961 graduate of Donelson High School, he received his college degree from UT-Nashville. Hunter was a veteran of the United States Air Force from 1962 until 1966. A prominent member of the Nashville radio broadcasting community, he was a DJ for several stations in the 1970-80's. He also worked for Cokesbury Bookstore. Memorial services will be held at St. Philips Episcopal Church, Donelson, TN, November 21, 2009 at 2 p.m., with family visitation from 1 -2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Hunter's memory to: Second Harvest Food Bank, c/o St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 85 Fairway Drive, Donelson, TN 37214.

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Published by The Tennessean on Nov. 18, 2009.

Memories and Condolences
for Frank Harvey

7 Entries

Eunice Clickner

November 20, 2009

Thanks Hunter for lighting up my life with your charm and wit. I will always miss you, but I know you are now on a great adventure.

Sharon Scudder

November 20, 2009

Hunter was a breath of fresh air in all our lives He had a great sense of play and creativity. A memory of him dressed as Santa coming down the attic pull down stairs at Annie's Christmas party always makes me smile. He joins a good crew on the other side including Annie and my husband Gerry. Peace to all of us.

DAN MCGRATH

November 19, 2009

I WAS SO SORRY TO HEAR OF HUNTER'S PASSING.WE WORKED TOGETHER AT BOTH WLAC AND LIGHTNING 100...I HAVE TO SAY I COULD WRITE SO MANY THINGS ABOUT HIM,BUT THE ONE THING I REMEMBER MOST IS HOW MUCH FUN WE HAD ON SO MANY NUMEROUS OCCATIONS...HE HAD A GREAT HEART...I LOVED HIS NOTES...HE ALWAYS MADE ME LAUGH....MANY YEARS AGO,HE GAVE ME A SET OF MERCEDES BENZ CUFF LINKS,I WEAR THEM
ALL THE TIME....WHEN I WEAR THEM THIS WEEKEND,I'LL BE THINKING OF HUNTER.....MAY GOD GIVE YOU HIS PEACE....
DAN MCGRATH,PALM DESERT,CALIFORNIA

Chappel Fisher

November 18, 2009

My Prayers go out to Hunters family. RIP

Chappel Fisher

David Braun

November 18, 2009

My Friend Hunter Harvey - A Eulogy

"I'VE GOT A BMW MOTORCYCLE, TOO! AND I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!," he shouted with his body hanging halfway out the window of a Volvo. We were stopped, on my motorcycle, for a red light at the corner of 16th Avenue South and Edgehill in Nashville, Tennessee, Music Row in Music City. "Oh, GREAT," I thought, "a nut case knows where I live." And so began my association with one of the more colorful figures in my life, F. Hunter Harvey. The Bear (my girlfriend) and I had moved to Nashville in October of 1974, after touring the US for seven months on my BMW motorcycle. We hadn't made any real friends in the eight or so months we'd been there... then we met Hunter. Years later, I was known to say that everyone I knew I knew because of BMW motorcycles. This was really an extension of the fact that all my friends were met directly or indirectly through Hunter.

Hunter lived two blocks away from us, in a little house located on an alley between 18th and 19th Avenues South. The house had once been a garage. The entire back wall could open up and he could ride his bike inside. Hunter was flamboyant. Hunter had LOTS of friends. Hunter LOVED BMW motorcycles. Through him, I became educated about the "lore." He was in the Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners Club. He gave me stuff to read. One day I said to him, "Wow, I didn't know BMW made single cylinder bikes!" About a week later he called me up and told me to come down to his house. There I met Somer Hooker. It seems that Somer had found a fellow who had a two-cylinder BMW and a BMW R26 (single) for sale, but wanted to sell them as a pair. Somer only wanted the twin. And so a deal was struck. Hunter was responsible for sending me down a path upon which I continue to this day. I owe him a debt of gratitude for that.

When he was riding in my car back in the late 70's and early 80's, during the time I frequently saw Hunter, he would invariably fix some problem that I did not know I had nor knew needed to be fixed. Perhaps he would use rubber bands to auto-close my glove box lid. All he had to work with back then were rubber bands, paper clips and bits of string. To tell the truth, he really did add value with those silly constructions. I wonder what it would have been like to have Hunter in my truck after the invention of day-glo colored plastic wire ties (Ty-Wraps) and Post-It-Notes.

He once told me a story about his first job, working as a busboy at the Belle Meade Cafeteria. In addition to clearing tables, he was responsible for refilling water glasses, topping up iced tea, and coffee. But being Hunter, he did not simply add coffee. He would make a note of the color of the contents of the cup, first add an appropriate amount of Half And Half and THEN top up the cup with fresh, hot coffee, to exactly the same hue. This sort of behavior lead me to call him the "Master of the Useless Arts," at which he so joyously excelled.

Hunter was a shining example of how to enjoy one's life. I believe that Hunter could get more pleasure out of perfectly pouring a cup of coffee than most people get from consuming an artfully prepared cappuccino. Hunter taught me that it isn't what you acquire that brings joy and happiness, it is the revelry in the value of what you already have, are and do, and your friends, that brings joy and happiness.

When we first met, Hunter was a midnight DJ for a gospel radio station. I never really understood that. But then the station was sold and became WKQB, a rock-and-roll radio station. Suddenly, Hunter was basking in his element. I was lucky enough to know him and be his friend during the time when he may have been enjoying everything in his life as much as one human being can. After a while, as these things go, the station was resold and quit being a rock station. As we all do, Hunter went on to other things. So did I.

I got married and had a kid. Hunter and I rotated away from each other, but never lost touch even after I moved across the country. Occasionally I would receive a letter or parcel from Hunter, containing random news items and ads with little Hunteresque notes in the margins and things underlined for emphasis. They would include a mix of clippings of current interest to Hunter and things which he thought I might appreciate. After a few stilted phone calls and ineffective letters, my response evolved into sending him postcards when I traveled.

Just to screw with him, I would obtain a postcard from, say, a hotel in South Korea and mail it to him from France. It always tickled me thinking of him receiving my non-messages, deciphering the postmark to contrast it to the card with his little giggle of a laugh and saying, "Oh, NO!" while smiling his big-kid smile. Last December I mailed a postcard to him in Puerto Natales, Chile, that I had written in Ushuaia, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego. The card itself pictured the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. Last February, Hunter sent a "be my valentine" card to my girlfriend, whom he had never met. Hunter's brand of innocent silliness was unique.

When I travel, I write a bunch of postcards. Most of them are obligations. The ones I sent to Hunter, I WANTED to send. Hunter is not there to be my addressee anymore. Even though I have not seen him for more than twenty years, I am going to miss him, miss interacting with him, though from afar.

Bye, Hunter. Thank you for teaching me what you did and, mostly, thank you for being in my world just being you.

- David Braun = [email protected]

Paul Ladd

November 18, 2009

Hunter and I worked together at WLAC and he is one of the more memorable people with whom I have worked. His joy and enthusiasm were infectious. RIP, Hunter.

Clyde, Carolyn & Lauren Kapp

November 18, 2009

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

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