HARRY EDWARD "COACH" JARMAN, JR.
Harry Edward Jarman, Jr., 76, of West Jefferson, North Carolina, formerly of Milford, died Tuesday, March 20, 2012, with his wife Carolyn by his side.
Harry was born in Berlin, Maryland, to the late Harry E. Jarman, Sr., and Marie (Richardson) Jarman. The oldest of 10 children, he worked on the family farm while attending Smyrna High School where he was a member of the FFA, a player on the high school football team and a musician in the Dixielanders. After graduating in 1955, he joined the United State Army, completing basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina as a member 101st Airborne Infantry Division, tank battalion. The following year, he was stationed in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and later served as a Tank Specialist in the Delaware Army Reserves. In April 1956, he married his high school sweetheart, Carolyn (Marsh) Jarman. The two were inseparable and remained best friends, confidants and sweethearts for the rest of his life.
After the military he worked as a government employee, first on a survey crew for the Delaware State Highway Department and later for the Federal government as a surveyor for the Soil Conservation Service. In the mid 1960s Harry began a successful career in sales working for Combined Insurance selling accident and life insurance policies door-to door. He easily assimilated the philosophy of company founder W. Clemens Stone, who believed first and foremost in the power of a positive mental attitude. The power of optimism over adversity would serve him well during his lifetime, enabling him to support his family and win numerous awards in a variety of sales oriented occupations, including life insurance, radio advertising, business brokering and commercial real estate. He also enjoyed working with his hands and working outdoors and when the opportunity arose for to combine the two, he took it. He worked in the 1970s as a Greens Superintendent for the Shawnee Country Club, where evidence of his love of a natural setting and vision for the future can still be found in its stately tree lined fairways and lush greens. He also managed the clubhouse before moving on to fill a similar position at the Dover Air force Base. In the mid-1980s, he worked as an advertising representative for Great Scott Broadcasting before becoming a business broker. He earned his Delaware real estate license in 1989 and became a Realtor, specializing in business and commercial properties. He remained a Realtor until retiring in 2006.
Harry was a lifelong professional musician. He created his own band in high school, was an early member of the Citizens' Hose Band of Smyrna, played in the Brooke Army Medical Corp band while enlisted, and performed in dance band combos along the Eastern Shore for over 40 years. If it made a sound, Harry could play it. He played the upright bass, piano, organ, guitar, banjo, clarinet, saxophone, and harmonica. He especially enjoyed taking his tenor sax or upright bass to Rehoboth Beach venues for jam sessions with Larry "Scotty" Scott, and others, to sit in for a night of jazz.
Harry was passionate about football. After playing for his high school team, he officiated both high school and junior college football. He shared his love of the game by coaching Pop Warner football for many years, guiding the team to state and regional championships. He coached Little League baseball and basketball as well, always striving to be a positive role model and mentor. He saw the potential in each player and worked to help each one recognize his value both on and off the field or court. He later coached lower Delaware's semi-professional football during its inaugural season.
Harry stayed busy with many hobbies: golf, woodworking, hunting, archery, trapshooting, camping, boating, and was always up for a game of horseshoes. He spent hours in his well-kept workshop and could fix anything. He made it a point to grow the biggest possible tomatoes each summer and when he moved in midsummer from Delaware to North Carolina, he dug up his plants and strapped them in his pickup rather than leave them behind.
He spent much of his time helping others. He served on the Milford City Council for several years, and was a member of many business and civic organizations throughout his life including the Jaycees, Lions club, American Legion. He held leadership positions in the Milford Elks Lodge #2401, where he was a Past Exalted Ruler and the Greater Milford Chamber of Commerce, where he volunteered as a member of the board and Executive Director.
Inspired by his grandfather and boyhood mentor, Captain Henry Richardson, Harry fulfilled a lifelong dream by earning his Charter Boat Captain's License in 2002. It was one of his proudest achievements.
Harry truly believed that there were no strangers in life, only friends he hadn't met yet, and he made many, many friends.
He is survived by the family that he loved fiercely, devoted wife Carolyn; daughter Laura Jarman Byrum, of Milford; daughter Linda Saccardi, and her husband Terry, of Lewes; son Harry E. Jarman, III, and his wife Jody, of Milford, and four grandchildren: Tyler Saccardi, of Lewes, Nichole Simmons and her son, William, of Dallas, Texas; Jessica and Carly Mae Jarman, of Milford; also eight siblings and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will take place at Rogers Funeral Home, 301 Lakeview Avenue, Milford, on Monday, April 2, 2012, beginning at 4:30 p.m. A celebration of Harry's life will follow at 6:00 p.m.
Memorials may be made to Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH, 45250-0301, or the Elks National Foundation, 2750 N. Lakeview Ave, Chicago, IL, 60614-2256.
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(03/26/12)