Harry Bexley

Harry Bexley, born November 20, 1922, at the Bexton Homestead in Moreland, Georgia, passed away on October 8, 2019, surrounded by his extended family. He was educated in the Coweta County Schools, and grew up in a share-cropping family during the Great Depression. Harry served in the U.S. Army Air Corp in the European Theatre during W.W. II, landing on the beach at Normandy just seven days after D-Day. Following his military service, Harry entered the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 613 Apprenticeship Program in Atlanta in 1945, while also attending Woodrow Wilson School of Law on the G.I. Bill in the evenings. He was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1948, received his Masters’ Degree in Labor Law in 1950, and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1957.

After serving as their legal council, Harry was appointed and continually re-elected as Business Manager of Local Union 613 for 33 years, and elected to serve on the International Executive Council of I.B.E.W. in the late 1960’s, representing the Southeastern United States and the Panama Canal Zone for 21 years. He served as President of the Georgia State Electrical Workers Association, the S.E. Building Trades Association, and Vice-President of the Atlanta Labor Council and Georgia State AFL-CIO. Throughout his accomplished career, Harry was appointed by Governors of Georgia to serve on various state committees including Safety, Tax Study, Elections, Worker’s Compensation, and the Judicial Constitution Committee. He was also a member of the Pythagoras Masonic Lodge No.41 in Atlanta. He remained actively involved in the Labor Movement and continued to let his voice be heard in political affairs affecting Georgia’s working people throughout his life. He was of council with the law firms of Wall & Noonan, and later, Bexley & Osofsky. In 2007, he was interviewed as part of Georgia State University’s Southern Labor Archives, with recording and transcript available ONLINE.

He is survived by his loving wife of 71 years, Harriett, with whom he traveled the world and loved dearly; his three children, Sandra (Lonnie) Plott, Stan (Susan), and Ken (Charlotte); grandchildren Marla Bexley-Lovell, Robert Bexley, Alan Bexley, Lauren Bexley, and great-grandson Brendan Harrison Bexley Brown. He was preceded in death by all of his siblings, and grandson Phillip Lovell.

The family will receive visitors on Thursday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 at Floral Hills Funeral Home in Tucker, Georgia. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, October 11th, with a reception immediately following burial. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Kids' Chance of Georgia, Inc. , a scholarship fund for the children of Georgia's injured workers or Briarlake Baptist Church.