Harvey Randall Bodie

2/17/1934 - 12/19/2014

Our dear father, husband, and friend, Harvey Randall Bodie, 80, of San Diego, California passed away in the presence of his family on December 19, 2014.

Harvey was born in Santa Barbara, California and moved to San Diego with his family when he was just a few days old. He resided for the majority of his youth in the neighborhood of Sherman Heights. Harvey spent much of his time as a young man working with his father managing parking lots in Downtown San Diego. At a young age, he would often escape to the movie theaters, developing a passion for Cowboy movies. In his early teens he mastered the skills of playing pool to the detriment and expense of many a challenger. This skill set him off on numerous adventures which provided flavor for the many stories he would later share in his life with family and friends. Growing up in the Downtown neighborhoods, he developed a talent for boxing and became a Golden Gloves contender.

At 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in El Paso, Texas. Upon conclusion of his service, he returned to San Diego and invested in his first Cocktail Bar. Harvey either owned or partnered in several Bars within San Diego until his retirement. He was very well know in the industry and perhaps made his most memorable impact when he owned Bodie’s during the 1970s, which was one of the original Live Music venues in the College area. Bands such as Mojo Nixon and Buddy Blue’s Beat Farmers were frequent headliners. Harvey was known for his social antics and getting the crowd excited for the shows by auctioning off pitchers of money, often for more than they were worth. And yes, he would also auction off spray bottles for the wet tee shirt contests. He either owned or was a partner in the following establishments: The Bottom’s Up, Bodie’s (College area), Hi-C-Era, Chee-Chee Club (Downtown),Wet Willies, and Mollie’s which became Bodie’s (Downtown). Harvey hosted many fund raisers and holiday events to support the AIDs foundation during the 1980’s at the Chee-Chee Club. His son Brett continues to run the Chee-Chee Club to this day.

Harvey was a well known character downtown and was never shy in speaking with strangers. He had a passion for writing and wrote many stories about the characters he knew over the course of his life. Some of his works included children’s stories. He loved to dress up and play Santa Claus at family parties and would read Christmas stories and deliver gifts in costume to a local elementary school.

To know Harvey is to Love Harvey as he always had a great smile, a joke for you, a long colorful story, and a sly glint in his eye. He was a true gentleman and generous to all who knew him. We know he is keeping them entertained with his jokes and stories until we meet again, somewhere over the rainbow.

Harvey is survived by his wife Stella, brother Robert Bodie, daughter Eliza, son Brett, daughter-in-law Laurie, step-daughter Sarah and husband Chris, step-son Steven and fiancé Lisa, and 12 beautiful grandchildren.

A celebration of Harvey’s colorful life will be hosted for family and friends at his residence located at 3362 North Mountain View Drive, San Diego, CA 92116, on Saturday, January 31st from 1:00– 4:00p.m. Refreshments will be served.