H. Harmon Diers of Eastham, MA, died peacefully on October 28, 2019. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1924, the son of Francis Diers and Margaret Diers, Harmon considered Fredonia, New York, as his true home and his residence from the age of seven through college. His was an idyllic if uneventful childhood, a town of about 6,000, full of bicycles and backyard games with neighborhood children. He attended a relatively small public high school where he played tuba and trombone in the band and orchestra. He participated in student government and other school activities (with a friend he published a small news paper, The Glow Worm News, feeling that the official school paper was dominated by the faculty.), and made many long lasting childhood friends.
In 1942 he briefly attended the University of Nebraska enrolled in the engineering program and where he volunteered to join the Army Air Force Reserve. But at the conclusion of his first semester, he was called to active duty. Later, upon completing flight training, he crossed the ocean in a convoy of Liberty Ships to Italy, joined the 12th Air Force, and flew eighty two missions as pilot of a "Jug", a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter/bomber flying low-level air support for the Fifth Army destroying trains, tanks, artillery, and bridges. He was awarded four Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Returning home after the war, he continued his education at the University of Nebraska. Engineering gave way to music. He sang in the university chorus, directed his fraternity glee club, and ushered at the university concert series. These musical activities led him to transfer to the music school at S.U.N.Y Fredonia where his father was the Dean of Fine Arts. (Due to the paucity of male students, post WWII, he found himself on the varsity basketball team despite never having played the game in high school! - many losses, no wins!) There he earned a B.A., and later, at Teachers College, Columbia University, a M.A. and Ed.D.
In 1952, while at Columbia, he met Ann MacDonald of Farmington, CT, a professional soprano soloist, pianist and composer, who gave a solo Carnegie Recital Hall concert herself. They were married that same year. She was an invaluable partner in all of his musical activities. During his years at Southern Connecticut, the couple resided in Bethany, CT. They raised three children Cynthia Ann, Andrew Harmon, and Heidi Jean.
As an undergraduate student at Fredonia he had met Robert Shaw, then a young charismatic choral conductor, so later, while attending Columbia, he joined Shaw's Collegiate Chorale in New York City. This offered him, not only many opportunities to sing with Shaw, but also to sing under the direction of several other leading conductors including Serge Koussevitzky in a Carnegie Hall performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (along with two hundred other singers).
He taught music in the schools of Warwick, NY, Voorheesville, NY, Easton, CT, and subsequently, in 1956, he joined the music faculty at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT where he taught a variety of courses and directed five choral groups. His College Choir participated in choral festivals, several of which he organized, and a Charles Ives concert in Kennedy Center. His choir toured Europe twice. He later became chairman of the music department and retired as Professor Emeritus after 32 years. An avid concert goer, he served for several years as music reviewer for the New Haven Register.
Early in life he learned to cook and to wield a hammer and thus baked countless birthday cakes and built two houses.
Retiring to Cape Cod, the Diers became active in choral affairs, joining the Chatham Chorale and Chamber Singers. They organized a choir for the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Chatham, and together served for nine years as volunteer choir director and organist.
He is survived by Ann, his wife of sixty seven years and predeceased by his younger sister, Dorothy Louise Nactzker of Fairpoint, NY. All three of his children, Cynthia, Andrew, and Heidi, predeceased him. He leaves three delightful grandchildren, Heidi's two daughters, Brooke and Heather Spiegel, of Eastham, MA, and Andrew's son, Ryan Diers, of Pleasant Gap, PA.
A service in Harmon's honor will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House of Chatham, 819 Main St., Chatham on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, he asks that you donate to your favorite charity, take your spouse or best friend to dinner at a nice restaurant, then sing the Air Force Song, "Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder". For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com.
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