Jeanne Harmon
In a moment, on Oct. 20, as Jim held her hand, Jeanne Harmon left this earth into the warm and close embrace of her daughters, Lisa and Laura.
Hers was a life of example to be celebrated and honored. Jeanne lived a good life because she was a good person. And she lived that life for others, always — as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, daughter, aunt, sister and friend.
Family was everything for her. To be sure though, Jeanne was the boss, the force that brought the family together and the glue that held it that way. Always there to give a straight answer to a tough question, Jeanne was the family’s well accepted and indispensable consigliere.
The intensity of her love for daughters Lisa, Laura and Amy showed itself simply… shepherding them to school, the Floral Park pool, the beach at Malibu; in the clothes she sewed for them, in the homes she created, in the joy in their accomplishments. Jeanne was their teacher, preparing them to find their own way. She taught by example.
After Lisa passed away two years ago in a car accident, Jeanne found comfort in knowing that her daughters were together once again. Amy (a stalwart though she doesn’t think so) remains Jeanne’s best friend. A relaxed smile and calm transformed Jeanne’s face during Amy’s everyday phone calls to her.
Her sisters, Susan and Jane, and her brother, Bob, were always there for Jeanne, and she for them. Her grandchildren: Michael, Megan, Aidan, Katie, Anderson, Caroline and Jack; and her nephews: Jimmy, Andrew, Steven, Mark, Christopher, Greg, Robby, Jeffrey and Teddy; and her niece, Elizabeth, all knew that Jeanne was always rooting for them. Jeanne reveled in the affection of her two-year-old great-grandson, Theo, and returned it in kind. To him, she was “gatemama.” Through their eyes and her hugs, eight-month-old Wesley made a forever connection with his “gatemama.”
Jeanne was born in Queens, then raised in Richmond Hill and Garden City, where she graduated from St. Anne’s School and Garden City High School. On June 12, 1965, after her third year at Ladycliff College, Jeanne married Jim in St. Anne’s three days after his graduation from West Point. Jeanne was everything to Jim. Each day with her was the luckiest day of his life.
During the Army years, they lived in Colorado, Georgia, California and Pennsylvania, eventually returning to Garden City in New York after Jim graduated from law school. Jeanne completed her college degree at Adelphi, then earned a Master of Public Administration degree at C.W. Post of Long Island University.
Once she felt her daughters were secure in themselves and stable in school, Jeanne began a valued tenure with Long Island Jewish Medical Center, first, as unit manager of labor and delivery. When Laura passed from cancer at the age of fourteen, Jeanne volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park, ultimately becoming president of the board. Jeanne’s relationship with the house went two ways. She gave all of herself to make it the best that it could be to help families in their time of need. But the house gave back to her. When Jeanne and her family visited it earlier this year, she said, “This place saved my life.” Who knows where she would have been without it.
The success of the Ronald McDonald House led her to a job at the Children’s Medical Fund, the fundraising arm of LIJ’s children’s hospital where Jeanne had spent many days and nights with Laura.
Jeanne took great pride in her home. She had a keen eye for design and loved sharing her home and a well prepared meal with friends and family. Jim served as her all purpose sous, daring not to move except under Jeanne’s close supervision.
If you were her friend, you were in for life. Time and distance never touched Jeanne’s friendships. She cherished the deep relationships she had with so many, and she was a good friend.
She also loved numbers. Jeanne was the Harmon family CFO. She also managed the finances and administration of their building in Manhattan, Jim’s law practice, and his investigations firm. Jeanne loved to play bridge, kept a running score sheet, and lately was more than tolerant of Jim’s play as her partner. She was a woman for all seasons.
Jeanne’s legacy is her family. Please remember Jeanne when you see any one of them.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10:45 a.m., the funeral Mass will be concelebrated at Church of St. Anne, 35 Dartmouth St., Garden City, officiated by the Rev. Peter Garry, who attended St. Anne’s School with Jeanne, and the Rev. John Piderit, S.J., who is a high school classmate of Jim’s.
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