He was a Doer

Proverbs was Jerry's favorite book of the Bible.  I thought it fitting to include a verse from Proverbs concerning work.  There was no one else I know that worked as hard as he did in his short lifetime. He had high hopes, like the Frank Sinatra song about the rubber tree plant:

Work Ethic of an Ant

He was a doer, a worker bee,

With the strength of a mighty oak tree,

Having deep roots into family and friend:

He, being the one on whom everyone would depend,

He had the determination of a carpenter ant,

The one that moved the rubber tree plant,

He was driven, with a work ethic that was unsurpassed,

He was giving of his time and talents to help with any tasks,

He was a dreamer, aspiring to have adventuresome quests:

Those were the dreams that he loved best:

To buy a retired fire engine and take the bucket truck up high,

To fly in an experimental airplane around the SC sky,

To drive a horse trailer from up north to the Raleigh fairgrounds,

To zip-line over the rain forest in Costa Rica…upside down!

To visit the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil,

To catch Northern Pike in the Vermillion River, so surreal,

To ride motorcycles and jet skis at high rates of speed,

To drive an 18-wheeler for FedEx, his expectations to exceed,

To camp in the Great Smokey mountains annually for nearly 40 years,

We remember him fondly, as we fight back our tears,

He did all these and so much more,

But time was short for what God had in store,

He was a loving father to three amazing men,

Who stepped up tremendously when he needed them,

He always inspired others even when he was ill,

Always referring to what he thought was God’s will,

And a husband of 33 years, a brother, a mentor, a son,

An uncle, a neighbor, a friend to everyone,

He had a bucket list that was lengthy and wild,

He was excitable by simple things like a small child,

To go out west and herd cattle on a dude ranch,

Was something he would have done, given the chance,

He wanted to navigate the east coast in his own sailboat,

A free spirit, he loved the daring and remote,

To hike the entire Appalachian trail, was something he wanted to do,

And he probably would have done it, but the days he had were few,

An excellent employee, he did not allow himself much leisure,

A problem solver, a do-it-yourself-er, a real people-pleaser,

He was an energizer bunny with enthusiasm to match,

He loved chocolate chip cookies and could eat the entire batch,

He had a beaming smile that was contagious,

And bright blue eyes that were outrageous,

He did not shy away from any type of chore,

Jerry Harvey, We love you every day, even more!

Tammy Harvey

Written:  10/27/2019

Proverbs 6:6-8 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.  Learn from their ways and become wise!  Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.