Gregory Harem
The finest hour I have seen is that one that comes between the edge of night and the break of day, it's when the darkness rolls away.
Gregory Neil Harem passed away peacefully and quietly on the morning of his 72nd birthday on April 11th, 2022.
Greg was born to Fred and Doris (Belknap) Harem on April 11th, 1950 in Corvallis, OR. The oldest of three siblings, he graduated from Corvallis High School in 1968. After moving to Seattle to attend college, he stayed there for over 40 years, raising two children with Julie Powell (Larwood), whom he married in 1984. After their divorce, he reconnected with Diana Oxley, a friend from high school, and he moved back to Oregon in 2010 to be with her. He ultimately returned to the Seattle area in 2020, where he could be in close proximity to his children and grandchildren.
His route to engineering was circuitous, although his family would be quick to point out that he had a methodical precision that was apparent from an early age! He attended the University of Washington, but left school before graduating. He then went to work as a diver in the oil spill response field with Crowley Environmental Service; there, he met Thom Davis, a loyal and life-long friend. He, Thom, and some friends started Global Diving, of which he was their first president. He left Global Diving in the late 80s, but it was through them that he found himself working with Alyeska Pipeline after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. There he helped create a contingency plan in case of future spills. Greg returned to the University of Washington, graduating with both a Bachelors and a Masters in Engineering in 1994. After interning at Gray and Osborne in college, Greg stayed on and worked there until his retirement in 2018. He designed pump stations for many towns in Western Washington, and took great pride in his meticulous, detailed, and well-designed plans. He was known to take his family on significant detours just so they too could admire the beauty of the pump station!
Greg was the type of person that was good at just about every thing he set his mind on. If you asked for his help with something, he would commit to it wholeheartedly. Many of his family and friends can (lovingly) attest to a project he helped them with, over-engineered, but built to last a lifetime. He greatly enjoyed gardening, home maintenance and remodeling, travel, preparing (and eating!)a good meal, hiking, and interesting conversation. He and Diana hiked many places in Switzerland, Italy, France, and Spain and those were some of his very favorite adventures.
Pop-Pop to four grandchildren, Greg took great delight in visits, watching videos and Face-Timing with them, and hearing all about their exploits. Using the Alexa, he enjoyed showing photos and explaining them to friends when they came to visit. The Saturday before his birthday the family got together to celebrate him and it was obvious how much joy seeing all the grandchildren playing brought him.
Greg was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy in late 2020, but he didn't let the disease defeat him. His nurses and aides frequently commented on his fighting spirit and his strong desire to keep going. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Those left to honor his memory include his two children, Kailey (Matt) and Bryce (Lisa) and their extended families, his grandchildren Chase, Lilly, James, and Rhys, his friend and partner Diana, and his sisters Vicki and Holly.