Henry Lee Harden

Henry Lee Harden, age 91, USAF (retired), of Pensacola, FL, formerly of Shalimar, FL, passed away Saturday, September 19, 2020, partially due to complications with Covid-19.  He was born, with the assistance of a midwife and his grandmother, to Henry Rush and Lucy Hargrove Harden on his grandparent’s farm near Modoc, Kansas.

In every sense, Henry was a child of depression era rural Kansas.  He attended a one room schoolhouse and did not enjoy the luxury of indoor plumbing until the family moved “into town”.  He was shaped by the economic hardships and near poverty of the great depression, as his father worked on WPA public works projects throughout western Kansas.   Among his most vivid memories were the swarms of grasshoppers, hoards of jackrabbits, and hellish dust storms that would destroy hundreds of acres of crops within a few hours.

He attended Scott County High School where he played basketball, football and ran track.  Within days of graduation in 1947, he enlisted in the Army.  His first duty station was in post-World War II Japan, where he first met Kisa, his future wife.

After a short return to civilian life back the states, Henry re-enlisted in the recently created Air Force and was again stationed in Japan, where he married Kisa in 1951.  During his 22-year military career, mostly as a radar technician, he was also stationed in California, North Dakota, Spain, Florida, and Montana, as well as numerous temporary duty assignments to Alaska.  After retiring at Eglin AFB and settling in Shalimar, he worked for such companies as TRW and Keltec in electronic systems testing.

Henry always appreciated a good story and was known for his colorful story telling skills, dry sense of humor, who rarely met a stranger.   He loved playing his guitar and singing classic folk songs such as, “You are my Sunshine”, and “Goodnight, Irene”.  After retirement, he picked up a new hobby, and became a very good, self-taught landscape painter.

Henry was survived by daughters Donna (Steven) King of Jacksonville, FL; Carol (Chip) Sanders of Pensacola, FL; grandchildren Jennifer, Dustin, and Chelsea; and son Robert, also of Pensacola, FL.  He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Kisa Toyoizumi in 2018, and his daughter Patty in 2005; as well as his parents and three younger siblings, Evelyn, Carl, and Otho.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, September 24th at 2pm, with visitation at 1pm, at the Emerald Coast Funeral Home at 161 Racetrack Rd, N.W. Fort Walton Beach FL.  Graveside internment will follow at Beal Memorial Cemetery.

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