Harry Frank Kohles

On Thursday, April 2, 2020, Harry Frank Kohles entered eternal glory at 6:48 pm. He was born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1934 in Philadelphia, PA to Eugene V. Kohles and Lillian McKeever Kohles. He was the youngest of three: sister Helen Lillian (Amrik) and brother Eugene Victor. He played soccer at Roxborough High School in Philadelphia. He served in the US Navy at the end of Korean War on the USS Edisto (Icebreaker) with tours to the Artic and the Antarctic. His lifelong delight was the penguins that roamed freely on the continents. After returning home, he worked for Bell Telephone, where he met his future wife Rosemarie Barnhart. Their first date was on Valentine’s Day in 1959; they married a year later in Philadelphia. She was with the love of his life for 60 years. They had five children together: Donna Marie Schmalz (Robert), Harry George (Denise), Paul James (Toni), Glenn Eugene (Karen), and Steven Craig (Nicole). He moved his family to a small town in New Jersey (Clayton) where they raised their family until he relocated to New Orleans in 1979. Harry worked in the diving business most of his career: at M&E Diving in Collingswood, NJ, Divers Exchange in Harvey, LA and Aqua Tech in Marrero, LA. He retired quietly where was an avid reader and historian during his “rest”. His family fondly remembers him as a great storyteller with a wonderful sense of humor that could light up a room. He was a Katrina survivor, but his health took a dive shortly after. He succumbed to Covid-19 at his temporary residence at Marrero HealthCare Center. He was a faithful member of Clayton Baptist Church and Westside Baptist Church. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. His 15 grandchildren are Matthew, Timothy (Marie), Sarah, Thomas, Krystal, Paul, Harry, Heidi (Jarvis), Kristopher, Paul (Ashley), Jonathon (Kaelin), Patrik, Tahj, Gaea, and Alex and great-granddaughter Amara. He is survived by his wife, sister, children, grandchildren, great-granddaughter, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. A private military funeral will be held this week for the family.