Richard C. Harvey

Richard Clarence Harvey peacefully left this life at the age of 92 on 23 December 2021 in Holladay, Utah. Richard was born on May 18, 1929. He spent his formative childhood years in Pocatello, Idaho. He attended Pocatello high school and enjoyed participating in school activities. A highlight for him was to be the editor of the school yearbook. He knew his sweetheart and eternal companion, Geraldine Ellis while they were growing up. They coincidentally dated one another’s best friends in high school. However, it wasn’t until after he came home from serving a 4 year commitment with “uncle Sam” in the United States Navy that they found each other again and began dating in Salt Lake City, where they were both living. Their dating days were extremely short as they realized they wanted to become husband and wife. Their marriage was sealed in the Logan temple on September 10, 1953. Geraldine was blessed with a very sentimental husband. Richard proposed to her after a date on New Year’s Eve. Every year after that he presented her with a rose on New Year’s Eve, to commemorate each year since his proposal, until that got a bit cost prohibitive when he switched to giving her carnations.

Richard and Geraldine made their home in Salt Lake City and welcomed their 3 oldest children- James Arthur, Rebecca Jean and Mark Ellis while they were living in Salt Lake. Richard originally had his heart set on obtaining a degree in architecture, but he completed his degree in accounting instead at the University of Utah. Not long after his graduation, he received a job offer which took their family to the San Francisco bay area, where they spent the next 20 years.

While the Harvey family lived in California they welcomed the last two of their children- Merri Alice and Shawn Richard.  They made their home in three different areas – Pleasant Hill, Concord and then in Vacaville before making a very big move across the country to Gainesville, Florida where they lived for the next 9 years. One of the greatest benefits Richard enjoyed from living in both California and Florida was the favorable climate that allowed him to create beautifully landscaped yards. Besides this relaxing and enjoyable hobby he also liked building things. Among his creations were items such as a unique bed for his 3 boys which included a bunk bed for Jim and Mark and a cozy niche for their little brother Shawn.

Richard’s first job in California was at Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, in San Francisco. Getting acquainted with “the city” and enjoying such things as the Chinese New Year’s celebrations and taking their children to see Santa each December at The White House helped the family to enjoy making California their home. Richard and Geraldine belonged to a dance group called, “The Debonaires”. This group met on a regular basis at a designated hotel ballroom in San Francisco where they enjoyed a fun evening dancing to the music of the Big Band era. Every summer the Harvey family returned to Idaho to visit extended family and to renew acquaintances. In the autumn, Richard loved taking his family to spend a few days in the Monterey-Carmel area and in the winter and summer to Lake Tahoe.

He left the business world when he went to work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a full time Institute teacher. Eventually he was given the opportunity to be an Institute director, which allowed him further opportunities to direct religion instruction at the LDS Institute at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Living in Florida meant a cross country trip back to “the west” at least once a year. But there was nothing he loved more than a nice long road trip.

From Florida, Richard and Geraldine made yet another big move to the Micronesian islands where they made their home in Yigo, Guam starting in 1987. Richard was responsible for the seminaries in all of the Micronesia area. It’s a good thing he loved to travel, because he was on the plane constantly.

When Richard completed his assignment in Micronesia, retirement from CES was his next step, which brought them to the second to last of their adventures. When Richard married Geraldine he told her that his dream was to someday retire to Colorado. As a small boy he enjoyed summer travels to Durango, Colorado and he fell in love with it. They found Grand Junction to meet their needs and made it their home for the next 25 years. They left Grand Junction in 1999 to serve a one year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Baltimore Maryland mission. This mission fulfilled Richard’s lifelong dream to serve a “real” mission for the Church.

Richard liked to stay busy, so while they were in Grand Junction, he obtained part time employment with Partners, a great organization which assists youth who need mentors. He probably would have worked for them until his dying day. But due to his sweetheart Geraldine’s declining heath, he bid a fond farewell to Partners and Grand Junction. At that point he and his wife completed their circle, returning just a few short miles from their first home in Murray, Utah. They spent their final days in Holladay, Utah at The Ridge Care Center where they were very comfortable and were blessed with frequent visits by family and friends.

Richard was blessed to have among his ancestors a pioneer family who sought refuge from persecution in Georgia when they moved to the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado after they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although he was aware of his religious heritage, he did not attend any church in particular while growing up. He was blessed with great friends while a youth in Pocatello, many who were members of the Church. He began an earnest study of the gospel and made an eternal commitment when he joined the Church during his Navy years while living in Norfolk, Virginia. Wherever he and his family lived, he and Geraldine quickly found a church family nearby with whom to worship and to serve.

Richard and Geraldine were heart broken when their son Mark died in 1999. Geraldine passed away in July 2020. They are survived by their 4 other children, James, Rebecca (Harvey Carter), Merri (Kurt Shipley) Shawn (Angelyn Stewart) and daughter-in-law Linda (David White). They have, like the scriptures say, “A quiver full” of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom they love dearly.