James Gaston Harmon

James Gaston Harmon of Plantation, Florida died peacefully at home on June 7, 2019 at age 95. Born in Elmore, Alabama in 1924 to Dr. James Harmon and Mae Gantt Harmon, he is survived by his wife of 64 years, Betty Scott Harmon; children James Samuel Harmon II, Sidney Scott Harmon, and Melissa Ann Harmon; granddaughters Jamie Harmon, Christy (Tomas) Leon, Bonnie Greiner, Taryn Harmon, and Autumn Harmon; and great-grandchildren Layla Leon and Zachary Leon. He was loved by all who knew him, including Stacey Greenwood and Lee Harmon.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Mary Waters, and brothers Edward Harmon and Luther Harmon.  He is also survived by nieces Robin Brooks and Jamie Smith of Mississippi and nephew James E. Harmon of Alabama, as well as the extended Scott family of many brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jim’s childhood as the son of a country doctor included a life outdoors spent hunting, fishing, and swimming in Mortar Creek. He was constantly whistling or tapping a finger along to a song in his head. As a teen, his father bought him a lap steel guitar and music lessons. He loved that guitar and eventually played with several bands around the Montgomery area including Hank Williams on the Montgomery radio circuit.

Jim was a WWII Veteran. He had finished one year at the University of Alabama when he was drafted into the Army and trained as a Medical Corpsman. After the War ended, he graduated and started his career as a chemist in Montgomery, Alabama.

Later Jim and Betty moved to Orlando, Florida where he joined Chevron Chemical Company. He worked for Chevron for 30 years as a chemist, plant manager, and safety engineer, later relocating to St. Louis, Missouri and then eventually Miami, Florida where he retired.

He loved his hobbies – fishing, playing poker, reading, listening to music, playing his pedal steel guitar, and tending to his vegetable garden and mango trees. He enjoyed spending countless hours on Lake Okeechobee with his beloved bass boat, Black Water Gold, and good friends Lee Harmon, Fran Murphy, and Sherrill Lewis. More than anything, he loved making people laugh and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Please join us for a Celebration of Life on Saturday, June 22, 2019 from 1pm to 4pm.  We’ll start with a short program at 1:15pm and follow with food and lots of memories and stories.

Sunrise Athletic Complex

11501 NW 44th Street, Sunrise, FL 33323

(NW 44^th Street & NW 115 Ave)

Park in the side lot on NW 115 Avenue, by the footbridge.  The community room is directly across the footbridge from the parking lot.

Please reach out to Melissa with any questions: 954-817-8739. Cremation arrangements entrusted to T.M. Ralph Plantation Funeral Home