Lee Harker's Passing

Paul,

Thank you for posting this. Not something anyone would want to post but it had to be done. I never had the pleasure to meet Lee face to face but I wish I had. My condolences to the Harker clan.

I'll join Dani in raising a glass to Lee.
Rest in Peace Lee! You will be missed.
Jim S
 
You will be missed more than you would have ever imagined. You were one that everybody wanted to hear some advice from. This sight will miss you. Lord be with you.
 
Godspeed Lee Harker. The many prayers from this site were not answered. The good Lord had other plans for you. My hope is that he placed you in a big marsh in the sky where you are passing up shots because you already have your limit. I regret we never met but have enjoyed every post you made on this site.

Regrets to you family in this difficult time.

Bill
 
Sorry to hear of Lee's passing. I've enjoyed his posts here as well as the MLB site. Lee and his family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
 
As said by so many others: Godspeed, Lee. Please allow me to note that despite this medium, which can be so opaque, so impersonal, Lee's gift was an ability to transmit, to anyone, the spirit of friendship. Sincerest sympathies to his family and all his friends.
 
The sadness that I feel right now is very difficult to explain. I too, never met the man, but talked to him many times over the years, either through email or the telephone. I can only insert the message that will be on my stone when my time comes, and I can think of no one better to share this with than Lee.


Requiem Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me;
"Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill."

Robert Louis Stevenson
 
I've had a day to stew on the news, and to be honest, I don't feel a bit better than the moment I heard it. I don't mean any disrespect, but for those of you that never met Lee in person, I'm sorry, cause you missed out on something pretty special. There was something about Lee that was just different than most... He was a realist yet jolly, he was big and intimidating, but humble and the kindest person you ever met.

It doesn't make sense, I don't understand it and never will, all I know is I'm gonna miss him tremendously!
 
Last night when Eric told me of Lee Harker's passing I was stunned. We had just last week spoke of how it would be nice to get up and see him this Summer or Fall. I went on the forum and started reading the posts regarding Lee. I was not registered and frankly hadn't participated on Duckboats in quite a while Though most of the names are not recognizable I did begin to see alot of old friends from the early days. Reading this string today more of the familiar, the "Old Gaurd" if you will and so many new (to me) faces. For those of you who weren't around in the early days of Duckboats, it really did start as not much more than a handful of guys (sorry Dani) with a like interest in boats and this great sport we share. And I really mean just a handfull. You wouldn't have needed more than your fingers and perhaps some toes to count roll. Lee Harker was one of those guys. Very quickly it became habit whenever logging on to check out Harker's posts. I may not always have agreed with him, perhaps not even always understood him, but I always read what he had to say and am better for it. Besides that, he could be funny as hell! The one thing that has seperated Duckboats from the other Internet drivvle, aside from the quality of the information, has always been the quality of the people. Lee Harker was one of the very early benchmarks of that quality and I will miss him.

jeff
 
I'm really sorry to hear about that. Lee was just about the best guy I never met. And certainly one of the best guys to hang around this place. Every time I logged on here I always looked for Lee's posts.

Boy I feel awfull for his family, especially that grandson. What a loss. But something tells me Lee stuck around long enough to pass the best parts of himself to that boy...

Take care all

Matt D
 
It's such a loss when the loved and respected go too soon. My family sends our condolences to the Harker family.
 
"Lee was just about the best guy I never met."

Matt, That exactly states what I have been trying to put into words for the past day.
I know it is my loss never having met him and am just glad I was able to know him through this site. Lee was so much part of this site it is hard to imagine what it will be like in the future without him. I do know it wouldn't be what it is now without having him here for all these years, for that I am grateful.

Tim
 
I met Lee face to face exactly once, and that was enough....

...that was enough to show me that the qualities everyone speaks of in "the best guy I never met" are just the same in real life as they are on the internet: the helpfulness, the humor, the stories and thoughtfullness...all the same.

Godspeed Lee, and my your family find peace that your suffering is over.

Chuck Jagger
 
Last edited:
This hit me like a ton of bricks just now.
I have not been on the web in a few days and I just cant imagine a DBHP without a reply from Lee. I, like many here never had the pleasure to meet the man in person, but felt like a lot of common ground was shared.
I and my family will all say a prayer for the whole Harker clan.
It is with a true heavy hart this morning that I wish you god speed good friend. We who remain here will keep your spirit alive through the memory of all that you brought to our shared experience.
Bob Butler
Noank CT
 
This is my edited version form DCF:

This is sad news indeed. I never met Lee in person. That said, through the DHBP almost from it's inception, I knew Lee. Though my log ins here are as infrequent as his are there in recent years, he was always a gracious presence. Days of friction and better days on both these pages, Lee has always been a constant safe mooring point for all that cared to accept his friendship.

I can still remember back nearly a decade with the his pet project of carving a smew. Great entertainment that project was. Complete with a mount that ended up shipped to Guatamala or something like that. Just yesteday my wandered back to those days, I was wondering where that thing ended up...

My deepest sympathies to Lee's family. Know that Lee's reach is far and wide, young and old.

We miss ya Lee
 
Well I did not know Lee as well as many of you, but when ever I did post he always had his own special way of replying, kind of made you look at things in a different light. Many times I would wait to see his reply, becuae I knew it would bring a chuckle when I read it. He had a special magic about him, like my grandpa and a college professor I had as an adviser. People like this are born, not made.

My deepest sympathy goes out to the Harker Family, and I would tell Blake and Brady, they will have many more memorable hunts with Grandpa Lee looking over their shoulder. They may not know it but I truly believe he will always be looking down the barrel with them!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top