Joseph A. Harmer

Joseph Harmer 11/12/1935-05/22/2022

Joe was born in Philadelphia to John and Frances (Keogh) Harmer on November 12, 1935. He is preceded by siblings, Mary, John, Catherine, Philip, and Frank; survived by his brother James. He was the devoted father to Diane McCarthy and Barbara (James) Taylor, with whom he resided in his final months. He is also survived by his 5 grandchildren- Louis, Jennifer, Joanna, Nadine, James, and 5 great-grandsons.

Joe lived a full life, with his passion being falconry. He began in the 1960’s and continued until he was about 85. He moved to Farson, Wyoming in 2001 after he retired from the manufacturing industry for his dedication to falconry. He was a genuine, hard-working, brutally honest man with an incredibly intelligent mind, respected by all. He inspired us all to live our dreams by living his to the fullest- including moving to Wyoming for his love of falconry. Before that he would travel from PA every fall and return in time for Christmas with his family who he loved greatly. In his younger days, he was always busy living loud. When he wasn’t working, he could be found with friends and family. He enjoyed spending time at his cabin, on his boats, flying his planes, or saving and caring for animals. He enjoyed the quiet of his favorite place, his home, Wyoming, the birds, and his falconry friends and family for his twilight years. He was happy.

Joe served in the Air Force, enlisting at age 17 during the Korean War and was stationed in Alaska at one point where he was in communications/radar. After his departure from the military, he continued to work on behalf of the US government tracking the migration and flight paths of various birds along the east coast. His work vastly contributed to the repopulation of peregrine falcons and other raptors both in the wild and in captivity. Joe was known to keep ahead of the times with the latest technology and utilize it for good. He was video chatting from the desert to family back home way back in the 2000’s before “facetime” was a thing. He used video cameras and drones to improve upon the traditional kite method of training birds to fly and hunt. He was a visionary and a true legend and he will be missed by many

Services will be privately held.

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