Harkin, John Kevin, Captain, US Airways (Ret)
Born 06 Feb 1921 in Stamford, CT, he took his final flight West on 10 Dec 08. He passed away quietly in his sleep.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 54 years Emily Allison Harkin.
While serving in the Marine Corps Reserve he began taking private flying lessons.
He became a civilian flight instructor in 1939 and began training British Cadets in Arcadia, FL before American involvement in WWII. During the war he was a First Officer with TWA where he met his wife Emily, a Stewardess for Capitol Airlines.
He was hired as a Captain with All American Aviation in 1945 where he began flying Airmail Pickup in Stinson Reliants. When the war ended he was promptly drafted into the Army where he served as a steward on DC-3s in the Army Air Corps.
He flew Airmail Pickup until 1949, when All American (predecessor to Allegheny and USAir) began flying passengers. He flew 38 years with USAir where he was the most senior Captain for the last ten years of his carreer. He was greatly admired, respected and loved by all who knew him, both professionally and privately. He was a Pilot’s Pilot!
He retired off of Boeing- 727s in 1981 to St. Petersburg, FL where he pursued sailing and windsurfing.
He is survived by his four siblings: Bernice Smith, Beth (Jack) Follis, Edward (Gennine) Harkin, Sheila (George) Egan and brothers-in-law Leroy Allaire and Roland Tremble; his four children: Terence (Nancy) Harkin, Garry Anne (Wayne) Brooks, Murphy Harkin, and Melody Ann (Michael) Long; seven grandchildren: Ashley Coleman, Bryan (Leta) Brooks and Kiley Brooks, Tyler,Tanner and Travis Long, and Chloe Spear; and two great grandchildren: Logan and Emily Coleman.
He was also preceded in death by his siblings, Maureen Allaire, Patricia Tremble, Donald (Rosalie) Harkin.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 13th at Bay Pines National Cemetery at 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Alzheimers Association, 225 North Michigan Avenue, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601 or Angel Flight, Inc., 1515 E. 71st Street, Ste. 312, Tulsa, OK 74136 www.angelflight.com .
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Gonna miss you. You were my best friend.h
Dear Friend for so many many years. You were a ray of sunshine wherever and whenever we met.Always a gentleman and comrade. You were a friend to many. You may have flown this mortal earth but will remain in our hearts ’til we meet once more. Hal and Barbara
As I recently told Murph, his dad was my childhood hero. As a youngster I aspired to one day become an airline pilot, and Captain Harkin was larger than life to me. The highlight of my career was serving as his flight engineer on the B-727 when I was just hired at 23 years of age. I was very new, but he made me feel extremely important as part of his crew. It had only been a few short years since Murph and I were high schoolers together! He will be missed.
LOVE, is the first thing that comes to mind because you gave so much to everyone.
You will surely be missed.
A rare breed, and truly a gentleman. Murph, I know you will miss your Dad terribly, and so will the rest of the world. My thoughts are with you and your family.
As we think back to the times we spent with Mr.Harkin,we realized how much we loved and enjoyed him. We will miss him very much as he was one of the nicest person we have ever met. Love will live on forever in the heart for those who path he crossed in his life.
I will miss you; nights watching Jeopardy and a rum and coke. But most of all I will miss your friendship. You are one of my hero’s John.
John was my next door neighbor. He was truly a great individual. I will miss him dearly. Our family extends our sympathy to Murph and his family.
Paul and Stephanie Hoffmann
Uncle Kevin, always one of our favorite Uncle’s. We will miss you! Your loving nieces.
Always ready with a kind word and a hearty handshake hug always glad to see you.
He was the first one to the hospitsl to see our son when he was born, always had a treat for our dog.Dinner nights out happy hour at home along the shores of Deep Creek that is how we will remember John.Rest in peace my friend from your summer neighbors Bruce Carm and the kids
John and Emily were our next door neighbors for 25 years. They were lovely people and we were enriched by knowing them. John was the very definition of the word ’gentleman’ and he was always the kindest, most generous person we had ever had the priviledge to call our friend’. The evening call to ’sundowners’ was always welcome and we enjoyed many a beautiful evening (and beyond) enjoying the Florida sunsets and a few libations with him, Emily, and Murph.
Gordon and Gillian Ratcliff
We will miss you very much, our thought and prayer are with your family. The world lost a greatest person and me personally a very good friend. Rest in peace. Your friend
John was my first instructor with Allegheny Airlines in 1966. He always said that I made it easy on him by getting all three landings in on the first landing in the Convair 440. He was the essence of patience and it was a pure joy to have flown with him during my career. He will be greatly missed.
My friend and inspiration, sadly missed. Jay Lynn Gelm
I am sorry to read of your father’s passing. I wondered many times how he was doing. My sister Kathy lives in St. Peter Beach, Fl. and we wondered if John still lived there after Emily’s passing. I will always remember how kind your family was to my mother, Ruth. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.
Captain Harkin was one of the most polished and respected pilots I knew. It’s people like him that kept Allegheny Airlines going. It was a tough job.
Quote from Illusions, the adventures of a reluctant Messiah, ” The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, a master calls a butterfly.”
John Jr.(Murph as you are called by a lot of your friends) I would like to extend my heartfelt sympathy to you and your siblings and their family. May the love of our Lord comforts you all in this time. I will continue to pray for you and your whole family. Love, your dear Friend… Bethel
As we read the entries in this family registry, we realize just how “larger than life” this man was to so many. We had the privledge of meeting John about 20 years ago at John Jr’s home in Pittsburgh. From the first hello, we knew we had met a special man: So friendly, down to earth, and interested in our lives. Mike, John, John Jr. and our little son went to an air show together. Mike remembers John explaining all the different aircraft while showing love and attention to our son. What a wonderful time they all shared. Then again they shared time in Deep Creek, where John treated Mike like family. Mike remembers commenting that he knew John would be a life long friend. There was an immediate connection there, probably like each of you felt when meeting John. Mike and John shared phone calls over the years, especially during the holidays, each time reconfirming their friendship. Over the years, whenever we would meet a veteran USAirways flight crew member, we would ask if they knew Pilot John Harkin – and oh, what excitement we would hear. Everyone had such kind and wonderful words to describe John – gentleman, kind, great guy, respected, one of the finest, to name a few. Our only regret is that we didn’t get the chance to spend more time with him. When we read the obituary, I said to my husband, “You really liked him, didn’t you”. He responded: “I loved him.” This says it all.
Now for Murph: You have been the perfect example of uncondional love. You have consistenly placed your father before yourself and been his best friend and primary caregiver. You unselfishly have given so much of yourself, always with the most respectable intentions, always honoring your father’s wishes. As his son, you are a wonderful reflection of his love. As he took care of you, you have taken care of him. I know you considered it a privledge, not a burden, to have taken care of his needs, just like he took care of all those he loved. We spoke on the phone the other day and we talked about how when there is no guilt, there is peace. May the peace of an honest heart continue to fill you throughout your great loss. You will meet again, this time, with no goodbyes. Until then, your father would want you to live on – enjoying your life. As a father, Mike wants you to know that his greatest joy is seeing his children happy, so give your Dad this one last gift – seeing his son and best friend living on and enjoying his life! We love you, John, and John Jr.
I haven’t forgotten the day when “Mr. Harkin” told me I could call him “Pa” and his wife, “Mom Mom”. I was a small child, invited over to play with their grandchildren Ashley and Bryan. We were neighbors in FL so my experience with him was during his retirement years. I called him “Pa” ever since. That’s the man I know.
Thank you, Pa, for all your love and support throughout the years. As you adopted my family, so did we adopt you and yours too.
Harkin family: Thanks for sharing such a special man with us. Our first loss was Mom Mom, and now Pa. But years of all our warm memories will never leave our hearts.
Carey (Klement) Daughtry
Dear Dad–
Thanks for giving me a lifetime of love and support. For all those flights on the jump-seat of a DC-3 and that check-ride on USAirway’s first DC-9. My friends tell me I’ve lived an “interesting life,” and so much of that is thanks to you and Mom: the great education you provided me and the love you gave me for people and places around the world. Your son, Terry.
P.S. To all of Dad’s friends and family who have written or called or came to the Memorial Service–
Thanks for your kind words.
Dearest John,
Thanks for all the great memories you left me with. I will keep them tucked safely in my heart. So, now soar with the eagles, my leprechaun, soar over the rainbow and soar higher than you have ever gone before. I love you. Rest in peace.
Patricia Ann
John was such a kind and charismatic man. He always made me feel welcome in his home. He had so many interesting stories about his life. He will be missed.