A member of the Greatest Generation, Harold was the 4 ^th of 8 children born in Lynwood, CA.  His family moved to Silverdale, WA during his childhood where his father supported the family during the depression years with a backyard sawmill and a chicken farm.  After his oldest brother was shot down during WWII, Harold hitchhiked across the country and later enlisted in the Navy on his 16 ^th birthday, claiming to be 17.  After the war, he used G.I. benefits to get a pilot's license, and joined the civil air patrol.  He went to work at Ames Laboratories, where he met his wife, Virginia.  They lived in various locales, including Guam and eventually moved to Seattle in the early 50s where they raised their five children and often one or two nieces and nephews.  He was a very involved father, volunteering to be Santa at the grade school, taking his family on weekly Sunday drives and many camping trips.  An excellent machinist, and a licensed sea captain, he worked mainly in the boat building and canning industries.  He became an excellent golfer with a very low handicap, and got at least 2 holes in one, still playing golf into his late 80s.  It is impossible to exaggerate how much he will be missed by everyone who knew him.  He is survived by 2 sisters, Patricia and Ruth, and his children, Linda Lynn (Gary), Kenneth (Gayle), Paul (Rochelle), Peggy Mercado (George), and Thomas (Margarita), as well as numerous grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his ex-wife (Virginia), his wife of 50 years (Camille), and all 5 of his brothers.