Delbert Clark Harsh Sr., 89, a resident of Route 1, Kerens, departed this life Saturday morning, March 30, 2002, at his home. He had been in declining health since suffering a stroke in November of 2001 and death was attributed to congestive heart failure.
He was born April 16, 1912, at Kerens, a son of the late Albert Luther Harsh and Alice Butcher Harsh.
On May 25, 1935, he was married to the former Pauline A. Chipps, who survives.
Also surviving are one son, Delbert C. “Jim” Harsh Jr. and wife, Christine, Kerens; two daughters, Emma F. Shurling and husband, Tony, Savannah, Ga., and Ina Jean Harsh, Kerens; six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
He was the last surviving member of his immediate family, having been preceded in death by two brothers, Boyd and Alton Harsh; and three sisters, Vertie Davis, Ethel Gainer and Ruth Metz.
He attended the Oak Grove one-room school at Kerens. He was a former employee of the Elkins Tannery and the Navy ship yards during World War II. He had owned and operated the Crossroads Service Station at Kerens and was a retired carman from the Western Maryland Railroad, retiring in 1976, after 25 years of service. He was a member of the former Hart’s Chapel United Methodist Church at Kerens and attended the Calvary Baptist Church. He was an accomplished fiddler and an avid hunter.
Friends will be received at Lohr-barb-vance Funeral Home from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today. On Tuesday, Mr. Harsh will be moved to Calvary Baptist Church, where final rites will be conducted at 11 a.m. Pastor Ralph Andrus will officiate and interment will follow at Israel Cemetery at Kerens.
