Obituary of Ralph S. Harman

A beautiful day dawned on September 7, but Ralph Scott Harman slept on. He had lived 100 wonderful years, but now his body so riddled with disease said enough was enough. He was born in Bakersfield, California on December 7, 1910 to Mary and Emrie Harman and had one older sister, Maurine. As a young man he put up stage sets for Warner Bros.. and while in Burbank, Ralph attended watch making school. When WWII broke out he worked at Bencia Arsenal repairing watches for the soldier boys. He attended and graduated from the American Gem Society of the United States and Canada, and the gemological Institute of America. Ralph opened two jewelry stores in Bakersfield. He designed and built his own home and following that graduated from real estate school. He sold real estate in Santa Barbara, Ridgecrest and Lancaster. In 1938 Ralph married Alice Wilcox, and they had two children, Patricia and Ralph Harman. Ralph and Alice did everything together whether it was running the jewelry stores, hammering nails on the house, riding horses with their children, selling real estate or travelling. After Alice passed away Ralph taught jewelry making for the Santa Barbara Adult Ed program and sold jewelry he made at the Cabrillo Arts Show until he was 97 years old. He is also survived by Dan Hart, and his wife Caorlynn, Dean Farnsworth and Sharon, grandchildren- Forrest and Dianna, , and three great grandchildren. He is also survived by Dorothy Heindrick, and Leatrice Dotter, John and Linda Reynolds, Earl and Pat Reynolds. There will be a short graveside service to be held on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, at 2:00 pm, at Santa Barbara Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to: The Cabrillo Arts and Craft Show, The Visiting Nurses or, Valle Verde Health Center.