Harry O. Harman

LEXINGTON – Funeral services for Harry O. Harman, 79, will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, at St. Stephen’s Evangelical Lutheran Church with Rev. Dr. Dennis R. Bolton and Rev Dr. Patrick Riddle officiating. A reception will be held in the social hall immediately after the service. A private burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 21, at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel.
Honorary pallbearers are the staff of Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, the Lexington County Coroner’s Office, and Lexington Medical Center Pathology; the SC Funeral Directors’ and SC Coroners’ Associations; and Congressman Joe Wilson, Sheriff James R. Metts, Solicitor Donald V. Myers, Judge Knox McMahon, Jake Knotts, and Lyman Whitehead.

Pallbearers are Josef E. Clark, Alexander Harman, T. Brett Harman, George Harmon, Dr. R. B. Harmon II, Samuel H. Hendrix, Lester B. Hite, Joe Rauch, Walter “Sonny” Sanders, Franklin B. Waites, and Coroner Gary Watts.

Mr. Harman, 79, passed away on Friday, April 18, 2014. A native of Lexington, SC, Mr. Harman was born on March 30, 1935, and was the son of the late Sarah Clark Harman and H. Odelle Harman. He was predeceased by brother, Arthur C. Harman.

Mr. Harman graduated from Lexington High School, attended Newberry College, and was a graduate of Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. In 1961 he started a successful business, Harman Funeral Home, which became Caughman-Harman Funeral Home in 1966. He spent more than 50 years counseling bereaved families.

Mr. Harman was first elected Coroner of Lexington County in 1976. He was instrumental in developing a countywide disaster plan, and disaster-response team, 24-hour pathologist availability, and employing educated individuals to meet the demands of changing technology. He sought to establish strong working relationships with all law enforcement, EMS, fire services, physicians, pathologists, and nurses. He also helped obtain burial plots and grave markers to ensure dignified burials for indigent citizens of Lexington County.

Mr. Harman was a lifelong member of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church and longtime member of the Lexington County Chamber of Commerce, Lion’s Club, Jaycees, and SC Coroners’ and SC Law Enforcement Associations. He was a past member of the Lowman Home Board of Directors, as well as many other civic groups, and past president of the SC Funeral Directors Association.

A man of many accomplishments, Mr. Harman was most important, a servant. He took great pride and care in serving the people of his beloved Lexington County. With a strong sense of compassion and respect, he wanted to help families at times of crisis and sadness. This desire began with his work as a funeral director and continued with his service as Coroner. The people of Lexington County elected him as Coroner 10 times, an honor he accepted with much gratitude and humility.

While Mr. Harman’s service touched many lives, he was always, first of all, a dedicated son, brother, father, and grandfather who loved his family, and especially his daughters and grandchildren selflessly and unconditionally. His extraordinary sense of humor, unfailing empathy, understanding, and devotion will always be treasured and remembered by his family and friends.

Mr. Harman is survived by his daughters, Sally H. Plowden (Russell) and Charlotte H. Stormer (Chris), both of Columbia; his sister, Elizabeth H. Caddell and brother Paul E. Harman (Gale) of Lexington; six grandchildren, Sarah Caroline Plowden, William Christian Stormer, Samuel Harman Stormer, Grace Zimmerman Plowden, Sarah McIver Stormer, and Anne Brailsford Plowden; many nieces and nephews; his special friend, Sandra Rauch White; and his loyal business partner and the devoted mother of his two daughters and grandmother of his six grandchildren, Daisy Wilson Harman.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the staffs of Lexington Medical Center, LMC Extended Care, and DayBreak; Doctors Michael Roberts, Christopher Marshall, and Richard Murray; and dear friends Bernice Gibson and Lettie Winston. Memorials may be made to St. Stephen’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 119 N. Church St., Lexington, SC 29072; Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, 3000 S. Beltline Blvd., Columbia, SC 29201; or a Hospice group of one’s choice.

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