One of my favorite things about Paw Paw was his welcoming spirit whenever I was around. For the past 15 years whenever he saw me he gave me the sweetest hug and kindest compliment. This of course was followed by one of his signature jokes! I will miss his welcoming presence and silly jokes! Thank you for the beautiful legacy you have left! 

I get to see my grandparents and great-grandparents regularly and most kids my age do not have the pleasure to say that they even knew their great-grandparents. I will always remember Pawpaw for his humor. In fact, when I was really little, since both my great-grandfathers had almost identical names, I would know which one we were visiting by asking my mom “are we going to see the funny one?” One time on a trip to Disney World we went to the Monsters Inc laugh factory where I got the chance to submit a joke, and can you guess which one I did? The nose joke of course! And to top it off it actually got told on stage! I was so excited to go home and tell him that. I remember when I was really little Pawpaw would walk me down to his neighbor's house to feed their horses. He also would lock me in between his knees while he was sitting down and say that I was in jail. Even when I got older he always would find something fun for me to do with him. Recently, I was over at his house and after we had finished lunch he told me that he needed help with a word search, so we sat at his kitchen table and had fun doing the word search together. And of course how could I ever forget how he would insist that he didn’t want fries, but then would eat all mine! When I was in second grade I made him a card for Veteran’s Day and he loved it so much he carried it around in his shirt pocket. He told me it meant a lot to him, but it meant a lot to me that he appreciated it so much that he carried it with him. Me and my mother went and saw Pawpaw just the day before he graduated to heaven. Though he slept for basically the whole time, he did wake up every now and then and I will never forget when my mom told him that I was there and he said “I love her.” I am so glad I have so many good memories with Pawpaw. I love you, miss you and can’t wait to be reunited with you again.
Love, your “Favorite” oldest great-granddaughter

One of the staples of riding shotgun with pawpaw was him looking over at you and asking, "Have I ever showed you how a cow eats corn" 

When I think of Paw Paw I think of a funny, smart, God-serving, Chicken eating man. I have learned a lot from you over the years and have many core memories of my childhood from shooting B-B guns at coke cans, to learning how a horse eats corn, to "a lonely little petunia in an onion patch", to having awesome cardboard castles in the basement at your house, and you chasing us around with shaving cream on your face. Jake, Caitlyn and I were able to see you in Hospice before you went to be with the Lord and that is a memory I will never forget. I want to thank you for all of your sacrifices, as I get older and become a dad I realize how difficult it can be. Thank you for establishing a Godly Heritage and creating a legacy that Harville’s follow the Lord and sometimes the path less traveled. I know that we will miss you being with us here, but what gives me comfort is knowing exactly where you are and exactly what you are doing, and that’s in Heaven with God Almighty asking, “What did the right eye say to left eye?”

I have so many fun and hilarious memories with Pawpaw. Thank you for the corny jokes that I will forever cherish, the lawn mower rides in the trailer down the hill, shooting cans in the creek, leg jail, me hiding behind your recliner and “scaring” you and many more. Thank you for being the home away from home that we needed when Jeremy and I were growing up. Thank you for the obnoxious amount of trips to Chick-fil-A, the cardboard box fort in the basement, the tire swing, watching all the “traffic” for me when I went to grab your mail and helping me wash rocks I would found outside. Thank you for showing me the value of a coupon and buying in bulk. Thank you for candy every time I saw you and the hugs I got. Thank you for always pursuing me with the love of God and for loving on my kids. Thank you for passing leg jail and the corny jokes down to them too lol. I will forever miss your smile and you always greeting us at the door with huge smiles and hugs. I love you and miss you already. Can’t wait to see you again someday. 


As your son many memories flood my mind about time spent together. We threw the football, shot hoops and played catch. You always had projects and wanted me to help (electrical , mechanic work on the car)  I wish I  had paid attention, it would have saved me some money over the years. 
We cleaned churches and beauty salons together ( me and Doug did most the work) to help keep us in private school. You worked countless overtime at Delta as well to "make ends meet" as you often said. God was good. Phil. 4:19
Most of all I remember your relentless desire for us to be in church. Because of that,  in November of 1977, I accepted Christ as my personal  Savior and it changed my life forever! 
This photo is a reminder that you not only impacted my life but generations to come .  I am forever grateful for your work ethic and your desire to see us serve the Lord. This is not good bye but see you soon.   Love You   Jeff ,Trisha and family

Psalms 78 :3-11 
The things that we have known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children but tell the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and His might, and the wonders he has done.  He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children. That the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments. 

I remember spending the night with Pawpaw and Grandma when I was little and Pawpaw always put shaving cream on his face at night. Then he’d try to get a goodnight kiss from me and he’d chase me around the house! Grandma would say, “John, you’re getting the kids all wound up before bed!”  Pawpaw just laughed. He also had his famous jail hold he would put us all in and we had to try to escape. We loved it and it always surprised him when we were able to escape his hold! My kids had the joy of that same jail hold! Reese said he will miss that! 

I remember Pawpaw telling me while driving through the mountains that there used to be an Indian who roamed these parts and to watch out for him. His name was Falling Rock. As I grew older I realized he was pulling my leg and there was a sign on the side of the road telling people to watch out for falling rock from the mountain side.  


From the time I was born until the time I went to college, I saw all of my grandparents every Sunday and Wednesday. It was just so normal to me as a child, but as an adult, I see what a blessing it was to not only be able to see all my grandparents on a weekly basis but also to have them all be followers of Christ and the example they passed on in their consistency with their walk with God. 

Some of my favorite memories of my PawPaw are from when we would spend the night with my grandparents. When we were little, my sister and I loved to play hairdresser and “fix” his hair while he pretended to take a nap. He would always wake up and act shocked at what we had done to his hair, which we found hilarious. He would also shave every night, and usually right when Grandma was trying to get us ready for bed, he would come out with shaving cream all over his face and chase us around as we screamed, ran, and laughed. 

I’ll also never forget when I first started driving, we were living in Stockbridge while our church/school was in Hampton. PawPaw asked me one Wednesday night how the driving was going and I told him that I really hated this one spot where I had to crossover Jonesboro Rd because there were so many of those “coming soon” subdivision signs on the corner that it was blocking my view of on-coming traffic. I don’t remember what he said, other than that he seemed concerned, but what I do remember is the very next time I drove through there, every single one of those signs had been pulled out of the ground. 

Ava and I were able to see him that last day. He slept most of the time, but he grabbed my hand when he realized we were there, chuckled at a joke I made, and said he loved Ava. 

I am lucky to have had him for 39 years of my life, I feel blessed that he was able to meet and love on all of my children. We will miss you and love you, PawPaw. 

Your “favorite” oldest granddaughter. 


Thank you for having the courage and vision to break generational curses. And to want to raise your family in line with Gods word. Thanks for making your basement a cardboard castle for us as kids. Thanks for taking us to the creek to shoot BB guns (luckily we never shot our eye out). 
 
Most of all, thanks for your love for the Lord. I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it wasn’t for that and your love for Chick-fil-A.

John Harville was my father-in-law for 40 years. I was his favorite son-in-law. I know because he told me often. I was his only son-in-law so it wasn't hard to fill those shoes. We had a great relationship all those years and I have great memories of him and his humor. He loved his grandchildren dearly and my kids were the recipients of that love. Our family will truly miss him. We love you and look forward to seeing you again in heaven.

One of my favorite memories with Mr. Harville was when he took Caitlyn and I to Cracker Barrel. He and Mrs. Joan would do this often. He always had a joke to tell and a werthers candy to share. He loved the Lord and was always a Godly example to those around him. I’m thankful to of known him and I know his legacy will live on through our family. 

My brothers and I got to see our Pawpaw almost 24 hours before he left his earthly body. What a sweet memory I have of him giving us smiles and a little laugh when we told his famous “right eye left eye joke.” He gave me my love for Chick-fil-A and boy was he mad when they stopped those paper calendar coupons. If you knew him you know he loved a good deal. He would tell his waitress “bring me change for a quarter so I can leave you a good tip” 😂

He loved the Lord, his family, grandkids and great grands and never passed up the opportunity to tell a good joke. Man I’ll miss hearing those. His last words to me were “love you too” and I’ll cherish those forever. Today we will celebrate his life and the love he had for his family and friends. We will see you soon Pawpaw 🤍

“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” 2 Cor 5:8 🕊

I met John Harville in 1969 when I tranfered into the cabin interior shop at Delta Airlines.  We became good friends right away because we were both Christians.   We had great times sharing from the the Bible and personal  experiences with  Jesus Christ.  He would share his faith  with anyone.  He left a Christian legacy to his family and friends.
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Loved John like an uncle. Actually got to work with John at Delta for a few years. He loved going to the original Dwarf house and knew all the staff by name.  He always had a joke to share.  Great memories and a great family!

OBITUARY

John W Harville Jr.

April 24, 1933 – February 6, 2022

Haisten Funerals & Cremations

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