Great-nephew's tribute to Harry Liggett

Harry Liggett a man 
of many talents

By Eric Poston , great-nephew of Harry Liggett
Eric lives in Green and is studying journalism at Kent State University.

Granddaughters Erin and Anna with Harry.

When I stop and think about Harry Liggett one word comes to mind, talented. 

Harry was a man of many talents who always kept himself busy. He was active on the Internet, in his garden and his church. Most of all he was known as one of the best journalists and editors in the area. 

I wish this article could live up to his standards, but I am still in the learning process. Harry always guided me with my writing by offering tips and correcting my mistakes. I know he was always pleased that I am following in his footsteps to be a journalist in the future once I obtain my journalism degree from Kent State University.

I really wish I could have had the opportunity to work with Harry in the business because I hear nothing but praise from his coworkers. Many reporters now praise Harry for the impact he had on their writing. 

While I didn’t have the opportunity to work with Harry, I had the opportunity to be his great-nephew. There really is not one aspect of Harry that sticks out to me because he had some many unique talents and spins on life.

My fondest memories have to be my visits I had with him when I would go over to his house to mow his yard. Often we would visit in the dining room before I started mowing. He always asked about my schooling and what I had been up to. These visits I will never forget and will cherish the rest of my life. Besides the visits at home, I enjoyed talking with him after church. He was very active at St. Paul Catholic Church in Akron as he ran the parish blog.

In addition to the blog, Harry spent a lot of time posting photos, writing articles and checking Facebook and Twitter. Yes, 83-year-old Harry tweeted often. He also spent time on Facebook staying connected with his friends and family. He used these forms of social media to share his many nature photos he took almost on a daily basis. Some photos featured the snow while others showed rain drops on the dining room window. Harry loved nature and photography that is evident by taking a quick glance at his Facebook page.

Harry with Asher Helon

I have to give Harry a lot of credit for everything he did. He was still using his snow blower to remove snow last winter. He attended church almost every day and then normally visited his wife’s gravestone. He hated when the weather was too bad and he couldn’t get out. Harry’s garden was always full of vegetables and his grass was lush green. He really valued his property and always wanted it looking the best possible.

I always had to laugh when walking into Harry’s house and looking towards the basement because you saw a bunch of empty boxes at the bottom of the steps. Maybe it was an empty cereal or pasta box that he would toss down the steps to recycle later that week. This was something unique I will remember about Harry. 

One challenge Harry faced getting his hearing aid in tune so he could hear those around him. I can remember having a conversation with someone else in the room and Harry would be sitting there trying so hard to listen. I have to laugh though because even if you weren’t talking directly to him, he wanted to know what you were telling the other person in the room, so when he couldn’t hear he would yell out a loud WHO or WHAT. He wanted to be a part of that conversation no matter if he was supposed to in that conversation or not. The reason for this action by Harry was because he cared about people. He cared about each and every one of his friends and family members.

It is never easy to say goodbye to anyone. Harry touched many lives and will always be greatly remembered by anyone that ever met him. I will dearly miss my visits with him and seeing his posts online, but he missed his wife Helen so much after she passed away in 2010. Harry and Helen are finally together again smiling down on us all. 

I will greatly miss Harry and my days won’t be the same without you around. Rest in peace Uncle Harry and thank you for everything you did for me and others during your time here on earth.