Dr. John Harvey

Obituary Obituary John Ernest Harvey Colonel John Ernest Harvey, 77, died peacefully, Monday, February 29, 2016, at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He will be greatly missed. John leaves behind his wife, Carolyn Bradley Harvey, daughters Holly Harvey and Beth Hynek, sons John Harvey, Jr. and Brad Harvey, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many close friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister. John Ernest Harvey was born on February 7, 1939, in Salina, Kansas to Dr. Ernest and Ethelda Harvey. He had one sister, Jane Harvey Pawluk. Growing up in Salina, John was active in band, orchestra, dance band, and was a member the golf team. Music and golf became lifelong pursuits, which John enjoyed to his final days. After high school, John attended the University of Kansas, where he received a B.S. in Zoology. While an undergraduate, he courted fellow K.U. student Carolyn Bradley, of Chillicothe, MO. They married June 3, 1960. John went on to medical school, also at K.U., marking the third generation of Harveys to do so. During this time, in 1963, daughter Holly was born. After medical school, John joined the Army. He continued his medical training in San Antonio, TX, then Fort Knox, KY, where son John Jr. was born in 1966. The Harveys then had the pleasure of three years in Hawaii, where John completed his residency. Son Brad was born during this time, in 1968. The family next returned to Fort Knox, where John was Chief of OB-GYN at Ireland Army Hospital. After Hawaii, it was a cold, cold winter. But the kids loved playing in their first snow and living close enough to visit extended family. Happily for Mom, John was transferred the very next year to Okinawa, Japan, saving her from enduring another cold winter. In Okinawa, John delivered 199 babies his very first month! While in Japan, daughter Elizabeth joined the family in 1972. The next transfer took the family to the other side of the world, to Heidelberg, Germany. There, the Harveys acquired a small motor home and enjoyed many long weekends and vacations tooling around Europe and Great Britain (often joined by friends and visiting family.) In 1977 John resigned from the U.S. Army and moved his family to Emporia, Kansas, where he began his private practice. He enjoyed living close to a golf course and spent many an hour at the country club with friends and with his boys. He also joined the city band, which played concerts in a park all summer. This turned into a family affair, with one or more kids and Carolyn often joining him in the pursuit. Ten years later John was recruited by the U.S. Air Force and returned to active duty. He was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy Hospital and moved the family one last time, to Colorado Springs, CO. There, he quickly crossed an important item off his bucket list: he learned to fly and qualified for a private pilots license. After retiring from the military for the second time, John served as locum tenens, filling in for physicians around the country. He contracted with the Chickasaw Indian Nation in Ada, OK, and also worked in Maine and Alaska. He eventually returned to Colorado, where he served as a general contractor at Evans Army Hospital at Fort Carson. John finally retired fully in 2008. In his forty-plus years practicing medicine, he delivered close to 4,000 babies. Once truly retired, John spent his days playing golf, recovering from playing golf, and playing more golf. It goes without saying that he loved golf. He was especially proud of the fact that he had been a golfer for seven decades, having started at the age of six. When not playing golf, John played trombone and baritone with the New Horizons bands. John also remained connected to the Air Force Academy and enjoyed watching womens volleyball with his son and grandsons. He faithfully and enthusiastically followed University of Kansas Mens Basketball and the Denver Broncos. It was Johns wish to be cremated. A memorial with full military honors will be scheduled for later in the spring. Services Funeral Service