Ronald E. Harmon

October 22, 1955 ~ January 27, 2010
Ronald Eugene Harmon was born in Denver, Colorado on October 22, 1955, the firstborn child of Hubert G. Harmon and Virginia A. Harmon. He grew up in Englewood, and graduated from Englewood High School in 1973. After spending many years working and living in Los Angeles, he returned to the Denver area, where he met and married his wife, Kimberli. Together they raised her two children, Chris and Holley, while he worked as an Operating Engineer for Tolin Mechanical. In August of 2009, he began his battle against small cell lung cancer, less than a month after his mother died of the same disease. In spite of numerous chemotherapy and radiation treatments, as well as his strong determination to beat it, Ron succumbed to the disease and died early on the morning of January 27, 2010.
He is survived in death by his wife Kimberli, her children Chris and Holley, his granddaughter Kaeley, his brother and sister-in-law Richard and Angela, his sister Heather, his nephews Richard, Christopher, Jeremiah, Nate, Gabe, Ethan, and Kaleb, his nieces Holly and Elizabeth, his great niece Zaylie, and close family friends Christina Taylor and Mike Otis, both of whom provided significant emotional and financial support to Ron and his family during the course of his illness.
Ron’s first love was music. He began playing woodwinds in elementary school, and was so accomplished by Junior High that he was nominated to the all-state band several times. In high school, he added directing and arranging to his skills, serving as the drum major for the marching band, as well as playing saxophones and bassoon in the concert and jazz bands. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. While there, he learned piano and the technical side of sound recording. Even though he was never able to sustain that career in music, Ron never lost his love for it or his talent.
Like all young musicians who move to California, Ron worked numerous odd jobs to make ends meet. He learned some carpentry while there, and in doing so, found a new hobby. When he returned to Denver, he honed those skills, and took great pride and pleasure in his detailed wood work (from building bookcases to refinishing old furniture to making jewelry boxes). He had a great eye for detail, and was methodical and perfectionistic in his work.
In his late thirties, Ron spent a few years taking classes at Arapahoe Community College, where he learned a great appreciation not only for literature, but also for science. He was especially fond of the work of Stephen Hawking, and could talk about those works for hours at a time.
Ron inherited his love of gardening from his grandmother, and he and Kim enjoyed growing numerous flowers and shrubs both on their patio and inside their home.
He also loved aquatic life, and was particularly fond of turtles and frogs. He also kept numerous fresh and saltwater tanks of fish throughout his life, and always took the greatest care with them.
Ron was an artist, a thinker, and a searcher. Even though he rarely found the answers he was looking for in this life, he didn’t let that stop him from asking the important questions.
He was loved very much by all of his family and friends, and he will be greatly missed.
Memorial Service will be held at Bullock Colonial Chapel on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Friends may make memorial contributions to The Denver Hospice.
“You can never have too many Stars, Flowers or I love You’s”
Ron
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