BY GWEN HAYES
Sentinel Editor
A Tampa woman who has been very active in the community died suddenly Friday morning, July 6, 2012, apparently of a heart attack. Mrs. Dorothy E. Harmon’s death followed that of her husband, Elder John W. Harmon, Jr., by 3 months. She was 85 years old.
During the turbulent years of the late ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, Mrs. Dorothy Harmon was active throughout the community. In recent years, some of the activity has been curtailed.
Mrs. Harmon, a native of New York City, was a classroom teacher for more than 50 years. She and her husband of 62 years, also a public school teacher, always taught “next door’ to each other. When the family moved to Tampa from Quincy, she taught in Hillsborough County and he was in Pinellas County. She was a graduate of Florida A&M University.
In Hillsborough County, she taught at Howard W. Blake High School, Just Jr. High School, Oak Grove, Jackson Heights, Potter, and Bryan Elementary Schools. She also taught at D. W. Waters School Resource Center.
She also taught troubled youth at Lake Magdalene and Seffner Correctional School for juveniles.
Mrs. Harmon became actively involved in the Civil Rights movement when one of her students was shot trying to go over a fence. Then sheriff, Malcolm Beard called upon her to use her community influence to bring peace in the community.
According to family members, following this involvement with the community, Mrs. Harmon began chartering Greyhound buses for yearly trips to Washington, D. C., New York, Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Tallahassee. With the help of Congressman Sam Gibbons and other politicians, she exposed underprivileged children to the workings of government and they had an opportunity to visit a number of sites.
These experiences led to the founding of Harmon’s Half-Way House, Inc. and Worlds of Help in Tampa To Save (WHITTTS) Associates Youth Service Clubs, which are active today.
She also promoted her “Reading Corner,” where she supplied books to recreation centers for children to read.
Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Harmon was a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and was founder of Tau Zeta Chapter. She also passionately delivered services to the homeless population, regularly participating in weekend feedings and earning the name, “the doughnut lady.”
Funeral services for Mrs. Harmon will be held on Saturday, July 14, 2012, 1 p. m. at St. John’s Cathedral, Bishop Eddie Newkirk, Pastor.
Among her survivors are 3 sons, William, John, III and James Harmon; and other family members.
