Thomas Edward Harvey

Thomas Edward Harvey was born on September 18, 1948, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and passed away peacefully on February 27, 2026, at his final residence in South Portland, Maine. He grew up mostly in Greenland, New Hampshire, the eldest of five sons (Glenn A. Harvey, Daryl S. Harvey, Robert B. Harvey, and Terrence B. Harvey) born to F. Glenn Harvey and Barbara J. Gove Harvey. He graduated from Portsmouth High School and then attended Bowdoin College graduating with a degree in mathematics in 1970. He worked road construction, bartended, and played poker to help pay his way through college. Before graduating, he married Claudia E. Reed and they had a baby, Wendy Lyn, born on November 22, 1969.

In 1970, Tom got a job working in Lewiston, Maine, teaching mathematics at Montello Elementary School. He eventually established himself at Lewiston Junior High School (a.k.a Frye Grammar School), where he found camaraderie with other young teachers who established high standards for students, raised families together, and celebrated the good, the bad and the ugly at the Blue Goose Tavern. In 1973, after Claudia graduated from Bates College, another baby, Marc Matthew arrived. The family moved first to Greene, Maine, and then to Hartford, Maine, and bought an old farmhouse on Church Street where the family attended Hartford Community Church. The first years in Hartford held a steep learning curve for renovating and heating an old home, but the young family became homesteaders. Tom and Claudia wanted to become self-sufficient and sustainable. The garden grew bigger and bigger each year with Tom meticulously keeping records of previous years in order to practice scientific agriculture. The barn was full of hay, a horse, rabbits, chickens, hogs, and a goat named Lucy, along with a dog named Clover, and a cat named Mitty.

Despite early misgivings about the need to pay union dues, Tom decided to join the Lewiston Teacher’s Association and eventually was elected Vice President and President of the Maine Teacher’s Association. He supported the rights for all students to have access to a quality education and for teachers to be treated with dignity and respect, working to pass legislation establishing minimum salaries for new teachers in Maine. Beyond his professional responsibilities, he participated in anti-Apartheid protests and demonstrations in support of Solidarity in Eastern Europe to break communist control. Family vacations were often organized around trips to attend the National Education Association’s Convention in early July, which included seeing Katrina and The Waves and the Beach Boys on July 4th on the Mall in Washington D.C. and seeing Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton duel in Philadelphia’s old Veteran’s Stadium before sitting on the field to watch fireworks.

In 1987, Tom left his teaching job in Lewiston to become a Uniserv Representative for the Texas State Teacher’s Association in the East Texas region. The family moved from Hartford to Mount Pleasant, Texas, where both kids graduated from high school before continuing the family tradition of going to Bowdoin College and becoming educators. Tom continued to work for the TSTA in West Texas as Regional Coordinator for Uniserv Reps. Tom’s commitment to advocating for teachers brought him to Baltimore, Maryland, where he was Assistant Executive Director of the 2nd largest National Education Association (NEA) local in the United States, the Teacher’s Association of Baltimore County. From there, Tom moved to Jackson, MIssissippi, where he became Executive Director of the Mississippi Teacher Association before settling in Anchorage, Alaska, as Executive Director of the NEA affiliate in the 49th state.

It is in Alaska, where Tom met and married Susan Baxter, whom he described as his soulmate. Tom and Susan spent their early retirement years in Hartford at the old farmhouse on Church Street before moving back to Anchorage. During their “golden years”, Tom and Susan travelled to Egypt, China, Russia, Malta, and each year to Puerto Vallarta. Susan passed away far too soon in 2022, but not before Tom established a special relationship with Susan’s daughter, Amy Chausse and her son, Jason Chausse.

Tom spent the years after Susan’s passing initially at their condo in Saco, Maine, before moving to an assisted living facility close to Wendy.

Tom was an avid fan of baseball, reveling in taking his grandsons, Lucas and Asa, to their first baseball games at Fenway, one of which was the 3-2 Red Sox victory on the day of the Marathon Day Bombing, when they all managed to get the last train out of the city after a rather lengthy hike with young kids. He adored his grandkids and loved hearing of their accomplishments.

Tom’s favorite movie was “It’s A Wonderful Life”, which he watched yearly, inevitably tearing up when Clarence earned his wings. Tom was no angel, but he understood that the world was a better place filled with George Baileys who would stand up to the Mr. Potters of the world.

Tom explicitly did not want a public service, but he did leave money for a celebration of life where Jameson’s Irish whiskey and Guinness will be served, per his wishes. We will be lifting “The Parting Glass” with him soon.

Tom appreciated support for public radio and public television. If you wish, please give to these organizations in your state in his memory.