Duane Harbert’s son, Tom, 51, passes away

Tom Harbert, 51, son of Duane Harbert, Class of 1951, who lives in Marlton, New Jersey, lost his three-year battle with bladder cancer on Monday.

Duane, who went by Donald after he left Monongah (because that’s his first name and the Army decided he had to go by Donald, and it stuck), wrote:

“John,

“Yesterday morning our youngest son Tom lost his three-year battle with bladder cancer.  The obituary that was written by his wife and which will be in the Harrisburg Sunday paper is attached.  Please put this on the Monongah High Alumni page.

“Thanks,

“Duane”

Duane’s mother, Goldie, Tom’s grandmother, taught at Worthington Grade School. Goldie’s husband, Frank Harbert, Tom’s grandfather, was principal of Thoburn Elementary in Monongah.

The Harbert family once lived next door to the McDaniel family on Water Street in  Worthington.  Duane remembers that “Joanne McDaniel, Theresa Demus and I were about the same age and played together sometimes, including at a birthday party.” 

Theresa, Class of 1950, is deceased. Joanne attended a party in Monongah for a 100-year-old woman a year or so ago.

Duane’s brother, John Harbert, Class of 1955, and his wife, Karen Colvin, also class of 1955, are deceased. They had four children.  Fairmont State grad John was a biology teacher in the Bedford and the Northfield school systems in Northeastern Ohio and at Cleveland Community College. 

Siblings Ted, Farrell, Bill, Gerald, Paul, Phil and Eva Harbert are Duane's cousins. The children of Agnes Wood and Griff Harbert, who was Duane's dad's brother, were Monongah High graduates in the 1940s and 1950s.

Duane was part of another family during his Monongah High days, when he lived in Worthington. I facetiously called us The Gang That Terrorized Marion County. We would gather nightly, either at the bus stop between the Tropea Grocery and Carlot’s Grill, or jumping into a car driven by Frank Franze, Class of 1950, who today lives in Slidell, Louisiana, which was owned by Frank’s father.

Others in the gang were the late Lawrence “Sonny” Godby, Lawrence and Regina Boone Godby’s son and the late Jackie Godby Lusczynski’s brother; Steven “Bucky” Satterfield, who lives in St. Albans after retiring from a long career as a West Virginia Highway Patrolman; Anthony “Tony” Eates, who is retired and living in Fairmont with wife Lucy; Robert “Satch” Kasper, who had a successful career sitting at the bargaining table for Ford Motor Company before retiring to his homes in South Lyon and Grand Lake (Presque Isle), Michigan; Donald “Jake” Halpenny, clarinetist supreme for United Mine Workers and Vingle bands, living in Fairmont; the late Joe Manzo, who survived the Korean war; the late Tom “Judge” Starcher, who began his prowling in Carolina; and me, the runt of the litter, who was the last one to jump into the Franze vehicles when it barely stopped moving as it went by our Church Street home and onto the latest adventures, which included Coal Hole swimming, skinny-dipping in the river with a gallon jug of draft beer and stolen watermelons and sneaking all but two of us into the drive-ins so that we’d have more money for beer.

And swimming at Fairmont Field Club at 3 a.m., until the cops showed up and we wound up in the Consol Coal office in Fairmont for a Getting Straight lecture in front of our parents.

Obviously, Duane and I go back a long way and have a lot of history together, so it is particularly painful to learn that he has lost his youngest son at age 51.

If you want to mail condolences to Duane, his address is

Donald D. Harbert
222 Mill Road
Marlton, NJ 08053

Tom Harbert’s obituary, lovingly and beautifully written by his wife, Cynthia:

Thomas M. Harbert, 51, of Hampden Township, died peacefully on Monday, Dec. 1, 2014 after a lengthy battle with bladder cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Coombs Harbert, and his daughters, Megan E. Harbert and Rebecc A. Harbert. Also surviving him are his parents, Donald D. and Mary E. Harbert of Marlton, NJ, brothers James M. Harbert (Diane) of Taylor, PA and David L. Harbert (Margie) of Stratford, NJ. He also is survived by his niece, Ashley Harbert and nephews Evan and Adam Harbert.

Tom graduated from McGuffy High School in Claysville, PA and attended West Virginia University where he earned a BS in Civil Engineering. He later attended the Pennsylvania State University and earned his MS in Environmental Pollution Control Engineering. His career spanned nearly 30 years as an engineer and project manager with several engineering consulting firms and as a Regional Engineer with Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS).

Tom loved the outdoors and enjoyed hiking, camping, biking and kayaking. Music was always a part of his life, and he shared his gifts through the instruments he played: guitar, mandolin, trumphet and a “mean” harmonica. Although the outdoors and music captured a special place in his heart, his true love was his family. He cherished each and every opportunity to be with family both near and far. His daughters made him immensely proud. He believed they will make the world a better place, and this gave him great hope for the future. Strong in faith, Tom was active in his church community everywhere he lived.

A memorial service will be held at the Camp Hill Presbyterian Church, 101 North 23^rd Street, Camp Hill, on Satuday, Dec. 13, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN), 4915 St. Elmo Avenue, Suite 202, Bethesa, MD 20814 or Hospice of Central Pennsylvania, 1320 Lingletown Road, Harrisburg, PA 171103.