Larry Ray Harmon

October 20, 1949 – May 31, 2023

Larry, 73, was born Oct. 20, 1949, in Yakima, Washington to Jim and Carol Harmon, along with his twin brother, Gary.

The twins were born 6 weeks premature, which resulted in an extended hospital stay and additional time spent with grandparents in Wapato, Washington. When they were strong enough to travel, the twins, their older brother Mike and their mother Carol rejoined Jim who was in the U.S. Navy stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. From there they traveled to many places including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where they were stationed for three years and then on to Brunswick, Maine for four years where the family welcomed his little sister, Karen. At this point Jim had a chance to move his family back to Washington with the Navy as a recruiter, which allowed them to be closer to grandparents and extended relatives.

Larry started his schooling in Wapato. The family moved to Moses Lake in 1957 and he continued his elementary through high school education; he was part of the Moses Lake High School class of 1969. These years were challenging for Larry as he navigated having dyslexia during a time when learning disabilities were very misunderstood and unrecognized. Larry joined the U.S. Navy in 1969 and was stationed aboard the USS Hornet, which landed him as part of both Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 recoveries.

After this he was deployed to Vietnam where he would spend three years serving before he was honorably discharged for injuries. While serving in Vietnam Larry spent his time helping people there wherever he could, which eventually led him to accomplish many things. First was financially adopting two children at an orphanage; he was able to assist in supporting their basic care and spend time with them. During this time overseas he also used his entrepreneurial skills to earn extra income to finance the work he did with the orphanages and within the community. One of his most cherished memories while there was being able to help deliver seven babies while in flight on the helicopter.

Upon returning, Larry decided to continue his education and attended Big Bend Community College, where he would finish his GED. While this wasn’t the end of his education career, he took time off to work as a traveling well driller until injuries forced him to come back home and get healthy. At this point he decided to continue his education once again; he went to Whitworth and then ended up transferring to Eastern Washington University. From here he would go to Perry Institute in Yakima to study precision machinery. This would lead him to live many more places including Olympia and Port Angeles and then back to Moses Lake in 1994, where he would live the rest of his life.

Larry met Janiel Edmondson in the spring of 2000 at a barbecue where her daughter Nicole introduced them. They began a close relationship and were married Aug. 28, 2015. Larry belonged to the American Legion for 50 years and also was active in the Masons. During these later years Larry spent time with his wife and was a mentor and sponsor with AA and the 12-step program and celebrated 45 years of sobriety.

Larry is survived by his wife Janiel Edmondson Harmon, brother Michael (Carol) Harmon of Forks, Washington, twin Gary (Melanie) Harmon of Moses Lake, Washington, sister Karen (Doug) Frank of Moses Lake, Washington, sister-in-law Lelia JoAnn Holland of Moses Lake, Washington and brother-in-law John Edmondson of Moses Lake, Washington. He is preceded in death by his daughter Nicole Edmondson, parents BH Jim and Carol Harmon, parents-in-law Jack and Maxine Edmondson and brother Steven Harmon.

Celebration of life was held July 8, 2023, at 2 p.m. at Moses Lake Presbyterian Church, 1142 W. Ivy St, Moses Lake, Washington.