Eugene Henry Harms of Columbus, Ohio (formerly of Perrysburg, Ohio) passed away peacefully on November 30, 2023 at the Kobacker House in Columbus, Ohio.
Gene was born in 1930 to Harold Henry and Bernice Rehl Harms in Bowling Green, Ohio, the 10th of 10 children. He served in the Air Force and then the Army during the Korean War. He was stationed in the Philippines and at the Nevada Proving Grounds during some of the Operation Desert Rock nuclear tests.
After his discharge he completed his studies at Bowling Green State University where he met his future wife, Eleanor (Fuerst) Harms.
After graduation Gene was accepted to the Harvard Business School’s MBA program, and, with Eleanor’s support, he graduated in the spring of 1957.
That summer, Gene and Eleanor were married at Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio. Their Catholic faith was very important to them and it sustained them through their marriage. They moved to Rochester, New York after their wedding where he began his next job as a supervisor with Rochester Products.
In 1959, Gene took a new position as General Manager with Henry Manufacturing, which would later become Henry Filters, Inc., in Bowling Green, Ohio. In 1963, they designed and built a home in nearby Perrysburg, Ohio. Gene and his team grew Henry Filters into a global company with a second office in Wolverhampton, England. In 1998, the company was sold to a German corporation, and Gene retired.
Gene and Eleanor had a strong circle of friends, with whom they often played bridge, and celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and New Year’s Eve. They loved to travel internationally but especially enjoyed the time spent at their Ft. Myers Beach condominium where their family regularly joined them.
Gene introduced his family to sailing, and he sailed and raced at the Perrysburg Boat Club where he served on the Board and as a Commodore. Gene also loved sailing his boat on the Gulf of Mexico. His children and grandchildren have all enjoyed sailing and racing from this early introduction.
Gene was very involved with Boy Scouts at St. Rose Church in Perrysburg. As a Scoutmaster, he went on numerous campouts and hikes, and was instrumental in helping both his sons earn the rank of Eagle Scout. He was proud of them and of his grandsons who also earned the Eagle rank.
Gene served on the advisory council of the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund, the Ursula Board of Trustees, and the Bowling Green State University Foundation Board, and was president of the Eugene and Eleanor Harms Foundation. He and Eleanor were also strong supporters of the Jesuit’s Midwest Province.
Eugene is preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor, his father and mother, and his nine siblings.
He is survived by his four children Mike (Mary Pat), Sarah, Mary (Chuck) Lempke, Philip (Rose), and his 7 grandchildren: Ted (Chelsea) Lempke, Katie (Paul) Tela, Philip Lempke, Evan Harms, Elizabeth (Michael) Colón, Stephen Harms, and Emily Harms, and his great-grandchildren Bradley and Sadie Lempke.
In lieu of flowers, friends are welcome to make donations to the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund in Toledo, Ohio.
A memorial service will be scheduled in July of 2024 in Perrysburg, Ohio.
