Harry L. DeVault

Harry L. DeVault, former Record-Courier Associate Sports Editor and Wal-Mart Sporting Goods Associate, passed away on December 15, 2018 at his home due to complications from a nine year fight with esophageal cancer, beating the typical odds of less than ten percent after five years. He is survived by wife, Sylvia (Nee: Workman-Vance), sister Hilda Klingler, sons David (Cathy), Scott (Diana), and Tim DeVault, and daughter Suzanne (Rob) Vanderhoff; 13 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren; four step-children, Bill, Joyce, Sheila and Crystal and their children; nieces, nephews, many friends and extended family. Harry was preceded in death by his parents Isaac and Hilda (nee: Fielding) DeVault, sister Edna Marie Broking, brother-in-law Frank Klingler, nieces Mary Schwab and Anna Louise Hamlett, and great-nephew Kurt Schwab.

Born on Vine Street in Ravenna, Ohio on March 19, 1934, Harry attended Rootstown Schools for four years before his family moved to Arizona. After five years, the family returned to Ohio. Harry was a 1952 graduate of Ravenna High School where he received National Honor Society recognition. 1956 Harry's friends and neighbors sent him into the military. He served for 22 months in the Special Forces at Bomb Hill, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Upon honorable discharge from the Army, Harry attended Kent State University.

Harry and his young family moved to Rootstown in 1960, where he was a member of the Rootstown Volunteer Fire Department and the Lion's Club. He served the Rootstown community as Secretary/Treasurer of the Rootstown Development Organization and was on the five-member committee which drew up the first zoning regulations for Rootstown Township.

In the fall of 1951 Harry joined the Record-Courier Composing Room staff, a position he held until being named Kent Sports Writer in 1964. In his position as Kent Sports Writer for the Record-Courier, Harry was responsible for the coverage of the Kent State University sports programs, Kent Roosevelt High School and Kent State University High School sports programs. Kent had two undefeated high school football teams for the 1965 season - Kent Roosevelt and Kent State High Schools. Harry coordinated a banquet, sponsored by the record-Courier, honoring those two schools. Over 500 people jammed the Rusty Nail Ballroom to hear The Ohio State University Football coach, Woody Hayes, speak. Harry was also the motivating factor behind a surprise banquet to honor Jim McDonald as Kent State University's basketball coach.

Harry also served as Commissioner for both the Portage County League (PCL) and the Metropolitan League (Metro) Scholastic High School Sports leagues. In a 1984 press release, the United Press News Service credited the Record-Courier as the source for a story naming Dick Crum, former Miami of Ohio and the University of North Carolina football coach, to the same position at Kent State University. Harry broke the story the previous day with a front page article in the Record-Courier. In conjunction with the Kent and Ravenna Recreation Departments, Harry organized the Portage County Open Tennis Tournament, which recently celebrated its 29th year. The Youth Division Sportsmanship trophy is named in Harry's honor.

During the summer months, Harry served as Motor Sports Editor, featuring local residents in the sport of motor racing. He covered for the Record-Courier 14 straight Indy Car Races in Cleveland, Ohio. In his 32 years of covering Kent State University Sports, Harry never missed a home football game and only missed on home basketball game. He thoroughly enjoyed writing "DeVault's Digging's", a popular weekly column which ran for over 20 years in the Record-Courier. When Harry retired as Associate Sports Editor from the Record-Courier in 1996, he, along with colleague Persh Rohrer, were elected to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Sports Writers Hall of Fame.

In 1997 he joined the Streetsboro Wal-Mart as an associate in the sporting goods department. Harry was recognized as Associate of the Month five times during his twelve year tenure with Wal-Mart. While at Wal-Mart, Harry organized the Wal-Mart Take-a-Kid Fishing Day. For the eleven years that Harry coordinated the program, approximately 300 youngsters per year came out to Lake Hodgson in Ravenna, Ohio on the first Saturday of June for a day of fishing, a sport Harry was a great enthusiast of. In recognition of his civic activity, the Streetsboro Chamber of Commerce named Harry its 2012 Streetsboro Citizen of The Year.

Friends will be received at the Wood-Kortright-Borkoski Funeral Home, 703 East Main Street, Ravenna, Ohio on Friday, December 21, 2018 from 4:00pm until the 6:00pm Memorial Service, officiated by William Wisniewski. Inurnment with full military honors will be held at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery at a later date.

Those wishing to honor Harry are requested to make a donation to The Wounded Warrior Project (www.supportwwp.org) in his name.

Condolences and memories may be shared at wood-kortright-borkoski.com.