Garry, Harry

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Birth

Harry Garry was born on June 21, 1909 in Newark, New Jersey to the late Charles and Maria Garry, he moved to the Helderbergs as a young man when his family bought the farm in East Berne in the 1930's.

Marriage & Children

Harry Garry married Margery W. Smith on November 28, 1953. Their children were:

• Charles Garry and his wife, Anina LaCour DVM; of East Berne
• Franklyn B. Garry DVMand his wife, Ragan Adams DVM; and their son, Samuel Garry of Fort Collins, Colorado
• Johanna Halsey MM, MA, and her husband, Mark, Ph.D. and their sons, Justin and Trevor, of Red Hook, N.Y.
• Judge Elizabeth A. Garry and her wife, Betsy Cahill (Betsy von Mechow), their children, Bonnie and Jacob von Mechow, and Nathaniel Garry, all of South New Berlin, N.Y.;
• David Michael Garry - Died young

Death

Harry Garry, 95, died peacefully at his home, Thursday, July 22, 2004.

Obituary

GARRY, HARRY: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice

Times Union, The (Albany, NY) - Friday, July 23, 2004

Deceased Name: GARRY, HARRY

EAST BERNE - Harry Garry, 95, died peacefully at his home, Thursday, July 22, 2004. Born in Newark, New Jersey to the late Charles and Maria Garry, he moved to the Helderbergs as a young man when his family bought the farm in East Berne in the 1930's. Harry had many varied talents and interests and was always eager to learn more. Mr. Garry was active in Soil Conservation Programs. He was an original member of the Albany County Farm Bureau, serving as their president for 13 years, and also vice president of the NYS Farm Bureau from 1976 to 1978. In these capacities, Mr. Garry worked with governors and legislators for the good of state farming communities, including changes in the Federal Estate Taxes. He was one of the first farmers to grow certified Empire Birdsfoot Trefoil and he convinced Governor Dewey to push to have this legume planted on the sides of all state roads. Harry was well known as the ' Singing Farmer' and in his earlier days took part in local regular radio and television programs, sharing his homespun philosophy and musical gifts. He was a prolific author and was widely recognized around the state for his articles and commentary. In later years he ran a farm seed and twine business. Harry deeply loved his community and strove to preserve and nurture it's unique and beautiful qualities. He was chairman of numerous committees with the East Berne Businessmen's Association, was instrumental in the continuation of the East Berne Post Office including the establishment of a rural postal route and helped to charter the East Berne Vol. Fire Co. He was responsible for helping to straighten Route # 443 in East Berne and assisted in getting East Berne included in the Capital District telephone system. He was the beloved husband of Dr. Margery Smith.

Survivors also include his children; Charles Garry and his wife, Anina LaCour of East Berne, Franklyn Garry and his wife, Ragan Adams and their son, Samuel Garry of Fort Collins, Colorado, Johanna Halsey and her husband, Mark, and their sons, Justin and Trevor, of Red Hook, N.Y., Elizabeth Garry and her partner, Betsy von Mechow, their children, Bonnie and Jacob von Mechow, and Nathaniel Garry, all of South New Berlin, N.Y.; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a son, David Michael Garry and two brothers, George and Francis Garry. Relatives and friends may call on Sunday from 3-7 p.m. at the Fredendall Funeral Home, 199 Main St., Altamont. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. at St. Bernadette's Church in Berne. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery, Berne. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Helderberg Vol. Ambulance, PO Box 54, E. Berne, NY 12059 or the St. Peter's Hospital Foundation, 319 S. Manning Blvd., Albany, NY 12208. Edition: THREE STAR Page: B6 Copyright, 2004, (c) Times Union. All Rights Reserved.

Harry Garry Mourned

By Melissa Hale-Spencer

EAST BERNE — Harry Garry tended his family as a husband and father; he tended his farm as a planter and dairyman; and he tended to his rural community, helping preserve the East Berne Post Office and helping to ensure such services as toll-free calls and a volunteer fire department. While he was firmly rooted in the Helderberg Hilltowns, his reach went far beyond. His thoughts on life — sometimes philosophical, sometimes practical — were printed in his "Down on the farm" column in The Enterprise, which were often reprinted in other publications. His voice traveled over the airwaves when he performed as The Singing Farmer. And his work with the Farm Bureau on the county, state, and national level affected many farmers' lives. Mr. Garry died last Thursday morning, July 22, 2004, in his home at Hillcrest Farms. He was 95. The week before his death, many family members and friends visited him there. (See editorial.) Sunday, during the calling hours at Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont, the line of mourners snaked through three rooms and out onto the porch. "It would be hard to find someone in the Hilltowns better known than Harry," said one mourner. Another said of the outdoor line, "I think Harry planned this so we could look up and talk to God." Kevin Crosier, a life-long East Berne resdient, said he had known Harry Garry and his wife, Dr. Margery Smith, since he was a baby. "Dr. Smith took care of me since I was born," he said, "right up until the time she retired." Mr. Crosier is now 45 and the town's supervisor. Mr. Crosier said, when he finished his visits at the doctor's office, located in the Garrys' home, he'd sit and have a cup of coffee with Mr. Garry. "Harry had a deep love of his family; that was utmost for him. The relationship I saw between Harry and Dr. Marge had a profound effect on my own marriage," said Mr. Crosier. "In today's society, where men are supposed to be so macho, Harry was always proud to show his love for her." Mr. Crosier went on, "The second really important thing about Harry was his love of the land and the community, and^his deep commitment to preserve it for generations after him." (Continued on Page 12) Mr. Crosier concluded, "He's a great friend, and I'm going to miss him a lot." "A-waltzing matilda with me" Monday morning, a Mass of Resurrection wds celebrated for Mr. Garry^at his church, St. Bernadette's, in Berne. Father Paul Smith, delivering the homily, recalled Mr. Garrv a lector at the church. "It was anything but an ordinary experience when Harry shared God's word with us," he said as laughter rippled gently across the church. "He did everything with gusto, with enthusiasm, with vitality, with appreciation," he went on, lauding Mr. Garry's "contagious kind of enthusiasm for life" and "his commitment to live life to the fullest as long as he possibly could." Rev. James K. Hilton, a close friend, gave the eulogy. "I think of Harry as a manchild," said Rev. Hilton. He described Mr. Garry as someone who was always searching, always reaching out, always adding to his knowledge. He likened him to his own son, who, as a little boy, said, "Dad, I just want to wonder." Rev. Hilton said that Mr. Garry "maintained a child-like faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and in God our Father, and he never let that be shaken." Rev. Hilton also talked of Mr. Garry's "great voice," but said, "He was far more than just a singer. Harry was an entertainer. Harry was a showman...much in the tradition of Al Jolson and Judy Garland." Both of those performers, he said, like Mr. Garry, "knocked themselves out for the audience; they gave their fullest." "In that singing, I saw the heart of the man," said Rev. Hilton. "I saw it most in the love he had for this woman — his wife," he said, gesturing to Dr. Margery Smith, sitting in the front-row, before him. "rtaifry was human and he had his faults," Rev. Hilton went on. "He loved this woman, and his family. You were his whole life." Each of the Garry children spoke at the service. Elizabeth Garry, the youngest child, with her young son by her side, read the Prayer of Saint Francis. "My Dad used to sing this prayer," she said. "I can hear him and the music in it." "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace," she said. "Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon... Where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy....For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life." Charles Garry, the oldest child, told the assembled mourners that many had told him, "Hell, you're just like your father." That could be interpreted to mean many different things, he said, but the interpretation he most often chose was, "It meant I'm extremely stubborn." He said he strove to live up to the compliment and concluded, "Being his son was not always a pleasure but it was always something to be proud of, and I miss him." Bruce Jacobs described Mr. Garry as his "second father" and said, although he could make him angry, he was always a friend. ' Johanna Halsey, the Garrys' elder daughter, with her son Justin standing tall beside her, said, "Dad is the one that I will always thank for helping me find my way to God."

Kahlil Gibran, a Syrian-born mystic poet who wrote of redemption through love. "Life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one," she read, concluding, "For when the earth claims your limbs, only then will you begin to dance." "So*4gn£&. well, my Dad," she saidf "I will love you always." Frank Garry, the younger son, spoke last and longest.

"My Dad was always with me and I think he always will be," he said. "He is a remarkable man; he did a lot of stuff," said Frank Garry, reciting a long list of worldly accomplishments — super salesman, community member, seed grower, discoverer of Empire Birdsfoot Trefoil, conservationist, lobbyist of the governor for this or that. "He always used to tell me, 'Franklyn, these are important

things.' The thing he never told me was important — it epitomized him...That was, he would sing. "My Dad would say, 'Margery, where's my guitar? There are people here. I need to entertain them.'" Frank Garry said that, when he flew east last week to visit his dying father, they went over favorite old songs together. He then strapped on his father's guitar and sang a song that Mr. Garry had taught his children about a cowboy out on the trail. "He'd sing to us thousands of times," he said. "He'd sing us to bed every night." At the close of the song, replicating his father, Franklyn Garry pointed to his mother and said, "That is the lady who makes me what I am,..Without her, I wouldn't be here." He went on, "Then he'd make you sing with him. I ain't Harry, but..." he said, launching into "Waltzing Matilda" — the irreverent Australian song that tells of a tramp who steals a sheep and, rather than let it go when confronted by troopers, jumps into the water, shouting, as he drowns, "You'll never take me alive!"

Softly, at first, at Frank Garry's urging, the congregation joined in the chorus, singing the mockromantic phrase for hitting the road with a sleeping roll slung over your back: "Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda. You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me..." Verse by verse, each time the chorus came around again, the voices grew in strength and number.

During the last verse, a woman sprang to her feet and shouted, "Stand for Harry! One more time!" Franklyn Garry obliged. "And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong; you'll come a-waltzing matilda with me." The entire congregation was on its feet, some clapping, others singing till the church was filled with joyous sound: "Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda. You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me..." "Now I know this is unusual in church," concluded Frank Garry, "but I want a round of applause." The applause was thunderous. "He carried the sword" "Harry Garry was dedicated first to his family and certainly to

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