NEW BEDFORD — Harvey F. "Hap" Greenhalgh Jr., 76, of CT and MA, passed away on August 23, 2010, after a four-year struggle with vascular dementia.
Born and raised in New Bedford, MA, he graduated from high school in 1952, and as a senior Hap was captain of the football team, nominated school principal for a day, and voted best disposition and personality plus. He attended Northeastern University-pledging with the Nu Epsilon Zeta Fraternity. In his senior year he accepted a co-op job in KY with the Warren Brothers Company/Ashland Oil and worked his way up their corporate ladder, moving back to MA in 1964 to become a statistician in their main office in Cambridge, MA. When the company sold to an English firm in 1979, he transferred to their CT Tilcon/Tomasso office, from which he retired in 1995.
He raised his family in Lexington, MA, where he was very active at the Church of Our Redeemer, serving numerous terms as their Senior Warden, chair of the search committee, Vestry member, and alongside his wife, fundraising chairs. Throughout the years, Hap remained involved with his fraternity Nu Epsilon Zeta, and was subsequently a board member and served as board president. He was also a member of the Lexington Historical Society, and season ticket holder of the Boston Pops. An avid sportsman, Hap attended numerous sporting events, and was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, and New England Patriots. He was raised as a Third Degree Mason at T.L. Jefferson Lodge F. & A.M. in Benton, Kentucky and remained a lifelong member. While living in KY, he was also a volunteer fireman, a passion he inherited from his maternal grandfather Charles, a retired fire chief/captain - and one that remained with him throughout his life. While living in CT, he was active with St. Mark's Episcopal Church, had a subscription series with the Bushnell and Hole-in-the-Wall Theaters, and for a brief time volunteered for Meals on Wheels.
Hap enjoyed traveling to warmer climates in the winter months and visited Antigua, St. Lucia, Captiva, and Bermuda. Summer weather took him to his beloved cottage on Wilbur Point in Fairhaven, MA.
He was predeceased by his parents, Grace (Greene) and Harvey F. Greenhalgh; and his wife of twenty-nine years, Ruth Kingman Greenhalgh.
He is survived by his three children, Nancy M. Greenhalgh of CT, Peter J. and his wife, Stacey of Nantucket, MA, and Bruce H. and his wife, Erin and their three children, Megan, Kathleen and Jack, all of Sandwich, MA; his current wife of nineteen years, Phyllis B. Greenhalgh of Berlin, CT; stepsons, Matthew Jaynes of Fountain Hills, AZ, and Marcus Jaynes and his wife, Becky and their two children, Christopher and Cayden, all of Falmouth, ME; his brother, Richard C. and wife, Jeanne of South Dartmouth, MA; brothers-in-law, Metcalf Kingman Jr., and David Quick of Mattapoisett, MA; sisters-in-law, Mary Jo Tormey of CT, and Nancy Murphy of MI; and numerous nieces, nephew and friends.
A funeral will be held at his family church in New Bedford, MA, Grace Episcopal, 133 School Street on Friday, August 27, at 12 Noon, with burial in Riverside Cemetery, Fairhaven, MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the MA or CT Special Olympics, Grace Church, or towards Dementia Research.