Ash, Harry L. III, 65 of Tampa, FL died Saturday May 5, 2012 at his home.
Harry was born in Parkersburg, WVA. He reached the rank of Sgt. USMC in just three years while serving during the Vietnam Era where he also received several distinguished awards and medals. He then went to work on the B&O Railroad as a Locomotive Engineer, where he remained for 38 honorable years. He was a 4th generation railroader, running engines first in SW PA and continuing with his move to Florida.
He volunteered more then 13 years in helping to raise guide dogs for the visually impaired. He was a lifelong member of the US Marine Corps Association and Foundation and the American Legion. Harry was an exemplary Marine, highly respected Locomotive Engineer, devoted husband, proud father, very loving son and brother as well as a loyal friend to many.
He leaves behind his beloved wife of 37 years, Laura (Leppla), loving daughter, Jenna, mother Sarah Maurine, aunt and god-mother Barbara Leggett, brothers Clark (Jennifer) and David, nieces Kim and Karin Hadynski, Nikki Ash, and nephews Scott and Christopher Ash along with many close and loving cousins. A special Thank You to Orlando, Yanara, Michael and John of Life Path Hospice for the special care they gave him.
A service with military honors will be presented at 10:00 AM on Friday, May 18, 2012 at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL for this honorable man and Marine. In accordance with the wishes of Harry and his family a gathering will be held at the Ash residence following the service, beginning at 12:30 PM and continuing throughout the day.
In lieu of flowers the family requests any donations be made to the US Marine Corps Association and Foundation, www.mca-marines.org or Life Path Hospice, www.chaptershealth.org/donations in memory of Sgt. Harry L. Ash III.
SEMPER FI!
Please sign the guestbook below.
Laura & Jenna,
My heart and love goes out to you in this difficult time. I hope that you can soon find comfort in the loving memories of a lifetime spent with such a wonderful Father and Husband. Much love to you and the Ash Family.
Kathy & Rob
Uncle vel,
You were the coolest uncle anyone could ever.ask for. You r missed very much. I know that papa is right beside you. You could always make me laugh
You and ur bread lol i could never get that one piece i wanted. :) u are always remembered never forgotten and always in my heart. Semper fi.
I love u
Harry was a good friend. He will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him.
Hi Laura & Jenna,
Our hearts are broken. Words cannot heal the pain of losing Harry, but they are all we have right now. You have our sincerest sympathy.
Your Freinds Chuck and Debbie Hietala
My dearest cousin Vel – you are the best of us…. and example to all the men. I love you & look forward to seeing you & Uncle Rusty again in a much better place when we are all healthy & whole.
To Aunt Maurine, Laura & Jenna …. our prayers are with you & we share your sorrow; only wishing we could be there with you. There are no words to fill the emptiness, only love, comfort & hope that we will see our dear Vel (or Harry & Dad as you call him) again. He is with Jesus – the best place any of us can hope to be.
To Clark, David & my dear cousins – I love you dearly. Donna Marie
My deepest condolences
Engine, engine number nine,
Traveling down Heaven’s line.
Harry is God’s new engineer,
So the angels travel without fear.
When riding on those golden tracks
There is no pain, no looking back.
Harry, with angels by his side,
Into Jesus’ open arms does ride.
Yet those of us, down here, left behind
Will one day ride Heaven’s engine nine.
With Harry to guide us to our quest,
To be at Jesus’ side for eternal rest.
God Bless Laura, Jenna and all of his friends and family. Emily and Fred
Laura, our thoughts and prayers are with you and Jenna. Many memorable memories came to mind over the weekend. Love you, Al
Laura and Jenna, We are so very sorry that you have lost your treasured husband and dear Dad. You can be sure his loving family surrounding him meant everything to him. I can imagine him blowing the engine whistle riding up to heaven, and angels coming out to greet him and wave their welcome. Melissa was very sorry to hear this, and wants you to know you’re in her thoughts.
Laura and Jenna~
Stacy, myself, and our family send our sincerest condolences. My heart grew very heavy and my eyes welled as I thought of the sadness you are enduring with your great loss. Then i thought of Harry and the chuckles he enjoyed from my nervousness around your “children.” I recall in your home extending my hand to shake Harry’s, when all of a sudden a dog crate lurched towards me. Those dogs were more than willing to rip me to shreds and made sure i was well aware of it every visit. It is with a smile that i recall those moments i was fortunate enough to share with you all. You and yours will be in our prayers. God Bless you all. David Jones and family
Laura and Jenna, my most sincere condolences.
Those of us in the family who were fortunate enough to have met Harry have had most pleasant memories of him. I know this is such a painful loss to you both.
Vel, I will miss you and your sense of humor. I think you taught me the art of sarcasm in Fl on our family vacation together in Lake Worth. Of course you did learn it yourself from Rusty, who was the best! (God bless him.) The sense of humor and art of sarcasm got me through 35 years of teaching…..an art my 8th graders particularly loved! Thank you!
Our last visit was sweet and I will treasure it always.
I love you and will miss you dear cousin.
Carol
We considered it a honor to have known harry, he was always kind and made us laugh.
Harry always kept me laughing. He would come in the place laura and i worked and i say i can see trouble has arrived and he would laugh. He would say what fun would it be if trouble wasnt here. Harry had one of my puppys who thought the sun rose and set by him,if that is not a testimonial of true love and kindness i dont know what is. Even until his death she was bravely by his side. I always have thought a animal is a true test of what kind of person you are. My animals saw harry as a kind and gentle soul. Im glad i will see harry again beside the lord jesus christ with a shepherd by his side. Love you harry beckie
Laura and Jenna you are in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Our life on earth is only part of the journey God had planned for us. Harry is now on the final journey and in a beautiful place surrounded by those that knew and loved him and have gone before him. Hold your memories close to your heart and let them help you to heal.
I Love you
Karen
Laura and Jenna you are in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Our life on earth is only part of the journey God had planned for us. Harry is now on the final journey and in a beautiful place surrounded by those that knew and loved him and have gone before him. Hold your memories close to your heart and let them help you to heal.
I Love you
Karen
RIP Uncle Harry. You will be missed but always be in my heart.
My Goodness Laura, How I wish I wwere there.
You ever mentioned Harry was Ill.My Condolences.
Also Jenna Has a daughter. More after Funeral
William and Nanci Townsend
Although we were Winter guests in beautiful Florida for many season, we were fortunate to have met Harry, Laura and Jenna. Harry was such a warm wonderful person to have known and we will always remember his smile and his caring for others. Our hearts and prayers go out to you Laura and Jenna and you Maurine and your family at this sad time. May God Bess you all. We send our Love, Eric and Shirley, Stittsville, Ontario, Canada
All the vacations we took together and the get togethers on the Farm, while Kids, never did it enter our mind that someday we would be doing this, I am so sad and wish someone somewhere would find a cure for this dreaded disease….I am remembering, we were alot alike and enjoyed the the bantering we did…you always had a come back!!! I am just so sorry we did not see each other much after we grew up!!!
God has a sense of humor, you all will get along fine!! Love ya Cathy
Laura & Jenna
I’ve been thinking of the both of you ever since hearing the news. Laura, you always had the words of wisdom when I needed them but I’m affraid I’m at a loss. Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you each and every day. Hope we can connect sometime in the future but until then, treasure all your fond memories! Sincerely, Paula Best
I will always hold Harry in my heart. He was kind, gentle and loving. It is hard to be so far away from Laura and Jenna when I would love to just hold them in my arms and wipe away thier tears….I miss both of you and wish I could be there for you, I hope you know that Kim and I are both here for you and always will be.
Blessed be his memory forever. We are thankful for his military service.
Blessed be his memory forever. We are thankful for his military service.
Laura and Jenna — there are no words. I just saw the obit today. We mourn this loss – he was such a wonderful man. We did have good memories as neighbors on Pine Meadow Court back in the day, didn’t we? Ellen, myself and Miranda all send our love to you all and you all will remain forever precious to us, in this life or the next.
God Bless you all!
Nancy
Laura and Jenna: You are both in our thoughts and prayers. We have so many fond memories of you all and our Tampa Puppy Raisers group. We are so sorry for your loss.
I got to spend a lot of time with Harry when I first came to Florida, and we became good friends. He was a great guy and I will miss him.
Harry was one great guy. Our sincere sympathy to Laura & Jenna. You are in our hearts and prayers.
Love, Deb & Rich
Aunt Laura, I remember many happy summers in PA when I was young and would come with my brother Willie. My deepest condolences on Uncle Harry’s passing to you and the family.
Sincerely,
Kelly Carlson and family
Although, I have known you all of your life, the time we actually got to spend together waas limited to family dinners at Uncle Ray’s at the farm and in later years,birthday parties for my Mother (your Auht Gussie). One occasion stands out, though: It was in the late 1970’s and I was flying from Chicago back to Cleveland on Northwest Airlines. You weren’t working the counter, but one of your fellow workers went to get you and we had a brief visit. You took me to meet Laura for the first time, then got me upgraded to first class on my flight home.You were always a first class guy and we will miss you.
Laura and Jenna … I love you both!
Jeff
I met Harry for the first time at Paris Island 1966 Plt 212. In boot camp there were about six marines that hung together with Harry and I. After Paris Island and the rest of the basic training we all got our orders and duty stations. After the Veitnam War I lost all contact with most of my Marine Corps brothers from Paris Island. Several years ago I started to put together a plan for a Plt 212 reunion.I got Harry’s phone number from a former Marine from Texas, I contacted Harry by phone and later we e-mailed each other, Harry was very exited on the idea of a reunion and we would have help from Oliver Pettit the former marine from Texas. I would like to read a phrase from the Marine Corps Hymn ( EVER LOOK ON HEAVEN’S SCENES THEY WILL FIND THE STREETS ARE GUARDED BY UNITED STATES MARINES ) Harry got his new orders and duty station, Camp Heaven’s Gate. SEMPER FI HARRY-OOH RAH God Bless you and your whole family.
Maurine, Laura, and Jenna our thoughts are with you during these difficult days. Obviously, Vel was a friend to many and a wonderful person.
I just got back from Hawaii welcoming our new grandbaby into our world and decided to check my email. What a shock to see this email! You and your family are in our prayers and we are sorry that we couldn’t attend the service.
Laura, Jenna, Aunt Maurine, Clark, and David: May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you and all Vel’s family and friends. Please accept my profound regrets at being out of pocket during this difficult time for all of you. You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers as you move forward. The miles may keep us separated but cherished and enduring memories will forever keep us connected. All my love……………Donnie
Harry – I found a picture that I took of you standing on the rocks of the Ohiopyle river rapids shortly after we were married and had settled in Connellsvile, Pa.
I remembered the day with a smile.
You lost your balance as I took the pix and almost fell in the rapids. Your glasses fell off and you couldn’t see well enough to climb up and out on your own. We started laughing at what we must look like – with me trying to help you off the rocks and up the steep bank and you saying over and over “I can’t see.”
When we made it to solid ground, soaking wet, you realized you couldn’t go to work later that day without your only pair of glasses and wanted to go back out on the rocks to “look for them”, even though you could hardly see a thing without them. Still, we kept laughing.
I went out on the rocks, assuring you that we would find them, even though I thought to myself that the chances were very slim, given the rapid flow of the rapids.
Lo and behold, I spotted them pretty quickly when a glint from the sun hit them just right.
They were stuck in the sandy bottom between two huge, jagged rocks.
As a reached down to retrieve them, I was pretty certain they would be broken and was very surprised to find not a chip or even a scratch on the lens, with the wire frames straight and unbent.
We marveled at our “luck” and began laughing all over again.
In finding the picture and remembering that day, I am reminded that while God did not promise us a carefree, easy life on earth, He did promise that He would always walk with us, guiding our steps and keeping us safe.
By the way, Harry, I found the picture, not with any others, but mixed between some old papers. I guess it was meant for me to find at just this time that I needed the reminder of God’s promise.
Semper Fi! love you Harry!
I enjoyed working with Harry, he was a patient mentor to me and many other locomotive engineers. You are still missed!
I worked with Harry the first time as an engineer trainee going to Miami on q453. Harry was a great mentor and just a great person to be around with a great sense of humor.Several years later I was working one side of the piggyback out of Tampa off an on for about three years, we would meet Harry and Chuck somewhere along the way that’s when I would whisper on the radio Hey Harry, Hey Chuck, and of course one or the other of them would whisper Hey Kenny. I don’t remember how it got started but even years later when I was working other jobs and would hear them on the radio I always whispered their names and they did the same. Harry was an excellent Engineer and a great human being. I will always remember Harry. One of your many friends. Kenneth Smith
Laura, Jenna, et al – it was fun to go back and review all the wonderful posts on this site from a year ago. I was reflecting after I got your e-mail yesterday and thinking about my earliest memories of Vell. As a boy, we vacationed often in Connelsville at Grandma Ash’s. Uncle Rusty would bring their family at the same time on occasion, and I looked forward to that since there were 3 boy cousins, and if they weren’t there then I was the only boy. Vell would be our escort as we walked downtown or to East Park. We always had such fun and did things that couldn’t be done in Kansas City. It was a time of innosence, anticipation, and adventure when live was siple and about discovery. It was a time of connection to family and bonding that I always looked forward to because we grew up so far away from family. When I think about it now, he had a lot of responsibility with us younger kids. I’m glad he handled it so well. Great guy – great memories. Praying for all of you today……….Donnie
We only had the pleasure of knowing Harry & his family for a few months many years ago but you all are still in our hearts and prayers. You are a wonderful family and I’m sure Harry was very proud. I sure do miss the Ash family.
The Sheepskin was the rail line between Connelsville PA and Fairmont WV. This line was vibrant back in the 70’s and the people who worked it were all part of a family. Harry and I were a part of that family and a time I will cherish forever.
We all worked well together and we all played well together. One thing we did with passion was introduce new family members with a flair. Before we left the terminal we made sure we had a pocket knife and a gallon jug of water. Since it was a small group of people we all knew who was on the other trains and it was everyone’s responsibility to make sure te new person was next to the window at all times. As the trains passed the new member was greeted with a gallon of water hitting their face just above the forehead.
Harry and I were both recipients and deliverers of the clear liquid. It was a fun group and looking back a time full of good memories.