In loving memory of Harry Peter Dechant, Jr.
Sept. 19, 1910 ~ July 23, 2008
Resident of San Pablo Harry (Pete, Desh) was born in Oakland, CA.
At 14, he was the first in his troop (Troop 24 of Berkeley, chartered in 1920) to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
After graduation from Berkeley High in 1927, his adventurous spirit led him to work passage on freighters to Hawaii and through the Panama Canal.
Harry earned two degrees from UC Berkeley, a B.A. in Physics (1935) and a B.S. in Forestry (1938), and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
From 1938 to 1943, he held the positions of Jr. Physicist, Asst. Silviculturist and Jr. Forester in the U.S. Forest Service. Among other duties, he fought forest fires, marked trees for cutting and supervised camp life.
During WWII, as an Asst. Physicist, Harry adjusted the magnetic compasses of Navy and Merchant Marine ships, a process called Degaussing, at the SF Ferry Building. For his contributions to the war effort, he received a Certificate of Commendation from the U.S. Navy in 1945.
After the war, he was a Chief Electrician in the Merchant Marines. Harry was a long-time resident of his "beloved" Bay Area, where he grew up and spent most of his professional life. In 1969, he retired from Hexcel Corporation and later worked for Duro-Test Lighting.
As a staunch Democrat, Harry expressed his political activism by writing over 130 letters to members of Congress and editors of newspapers, 11 submissions of which were published in local papers.
He was a lifetime member of the California Alumni Association at UC Berkeley and a Master Mason of the Wenatchee Masonic Center, Riverside Lodge, No. 112, WA. Throughout his life, Harry donated to many causes, most frequently the Democratic Party, the American Indian Relief Fund and Food For The Poor. He loved to spend time working on astronomical calculations and reading a wide variety of literary works and scientific publications. His enthusiasm never wavered for the Giants, the 49ers, "Casablanca," "North by Northwest," Big Band music and home remedies, that seem to have worked. He will be remembered as a man of great integrity and principle, and a loving and devoted grandfather.
Harry's brother, Leonard, and sister, Katherine, predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; sister, Suzanne (husband, Sherman); brother, Richard; former wife, Ruth; son, Edmund (wife, Kathleen); daughters, Yvonne (Sidney), Marilyn (husband, John) and Dorothy (husband, Steven); seven grandchildren, Sarah, Stella, Benjamin, Jenifer, Theodore, Lydia and Peter; and six great grandchildren.
- Published in East Bay Times, 7 October 2008
Sept. 19, 1910 ~ July 23, 2008
Resident of San Pablo Harry (Pete, Desh) was born in Oakland, CA.
At 14, he was the first in his troop (Troop 24 of Berkeley, chartered in 1920) to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
After graduation from Berkeley High in 1927, his adventurous spirit led him to work passage on freighters to Hawaii and through the Panama Canal.
Harry earned two degrees from UC Berkeley, a B.A. in Physics (1935) and a B.S. in Forestry (1938), and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
From 1938 to 1943, he held the positions of Jr. Physicist, Asst. Silviculturist and Jr. Forester in the U.S. Forest Service. Among other duties, he fought forest fires, marked trees for cutting and supervised camp life.
During WWII, as an Asst. Physicist, Harry adjusted the magnetic compasses of Navy and Merchant Marine ships, a process called Degaussing, at the SF Ferry Building. For his contributions to the war effort, he received a Certificate of Commendation from the U.S. Navy in 1945.
After the war, he was a Chief Electrician in the Merchant Marines. Harry was a long-time resident of his "beloved" Bay Area, where he grew up and spent most of his professional life. In 1969, he retired from Hexcel Corporation and later worked for Duro-Test Lighting.
As a staunch Democrat, Harry expressed his political activism by writing over 130 letters to members of Congress and editors of newspapers, 11 submissions of which were published in local papers.
He was a lifetime member of the California Alumni Association at UC Berkeley and a Master Mason of the Wenatchee Masonic Center, Riverside Lodge, No. 112, WA. Throughout his life, Harry donated to many causes, most frequently the Democratic Party, the American Indian Relief Fund and Food For The Poor. He loved to spend time working on astronomical calculations and reading a wide variety of literary works and scientific publications. His enthusiasm never wavered for the Giants, the 49ers, "Casablanca," "North by Northwest," Big Band music and home remedies, that seem to have worked. He will be remembered as a man of great integrity and principle, and a loving and devoted grandfather.
Harry's brother, Leonard, and sister, Katherine, predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; sister, Suzanne (husband, Sherman); brother, Richard; former wife, Ruth; son, Edmund (wife, Kathleen); daughters, Yvonne (Sidney), Marilyn (husband, John) and Dorothy (husband, Steven); seven grandchildren, Sarah, Stella, Benjamin, Jenifer, Theodore, Lydia and Peter; and six great grandchildren.
- Published in East Bay Times, 7 October 2008
In loving memory of Harry Peter Dechant, Jr.
Sept. 19, 1910 ~ July 23, 2008
Resident of San Pablo Harry (Pete, Desh) was born in Oakland, CA.
At 14, he was the first in his troop (Troop 24 of Berkeley, chartered in 1920) to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
After graduation from Berkeley High in 1927, his adventurous spirit led him to work passage on freighters to Hawaii and through the Panama Canal.
Harry earned two degrees from UC Berkeley, a B.A. in Physics (1935) and a B.S. in Forestry (1938), and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
From 1938 to 1943, he held the positions of Jr. Physicist, Asst. Silviculturist and Jr. Forester in the U.S. Forest Service. Among other duties, he fought forest fires, marked trees for cutting and supervised camp life.
During WWII, as an Asst. Physicist, Harry adjusted the magnetic compasses of Navy and Merchant Marine ships, a process called Degaussing, at the SF Ferry Building. For his contributions to the war effort, he received a Certificate of Commendation from the U.S. Navy in 1945.
After the war, he was a Chief Electrician in the Merchant Marines. Harry was a long-time resident of his "beloved" Bay Area, where he grew up and spent most of his professional life. In 1969, he retired from Hexcel Corporation and later worked for Duro-Test Lighting.
As a staunch Democrat, Harry expressed his political activism by writing over 130 letters to members of Congress and editors of newspapers, 11 submissions of which were published in local papers.
He was a lifetime member of the California Alumni Association at UC Berkeley and a Master Mason of the Wenatchee Masonic Center, Riverside Lodge, No. 112, WA. Throughout his life, Harry donated to many causes, most frequently the Democratic Party, the American Indian Relief Fund and Food For The Poor. He loved to spend time working on astronomical calculations and reading a wide variety of literary works and scientific publications. His enthusiasm never wavered for the Giants, the 49ers, "Casablanca," "North by Northwest," Big Band music and home remedies, that seem to have worked. He will be remembered as a man of great integrity and principle, and a loving and devoted grandfather.
Harry's brother, Leonard, and sister, Katherine, predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; sister, Suzanne (husband, Sherman); brother, Richard; former wife, Ruth; son, Edmund (wife, Kathleen); daughters, Yvonne (Sidney), Marilyn (husband, John) and Dorothy (husband, Steven); seven grandchildren, Sarah, Stella, Benjamin, Jenifer, Theodore, Lydia and Peter; and six great grandchildren.
- Published in East Bay Times, 7 October 2008
Sept. 19, 1910 ~ July 23, 2008
Resident of San Pablo Harry (Pete, Desh) was born in Oakland, CA.
At 14, he was the first in his troop (Troop 24 of Berkeley, chartered in 1920) to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
After graduation from Berkeley High in 1927, his adventurous spirit led him to work passage on freighters to Hawaii and through the Panama Canal.
Harry earned two degrees from UC Berkeley, a B.A. in Physics (1935) and a B.S. in Forestry (1938), and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
From 1938 to 1943, he held the positions of Jr. Physicist, Asst. Silviculturist and Jr. Forester in the U.S. Forest Service. Among other duties, he fought forest fires, marked trees for cutting and supervised camp life.
During WWII, as an Asst. Physicist, Harry adjusted the magnetic compasses of Navy and Merchant Marine ships, a process called Degaussing, at the SF Ferry Building. For his contributions to the war effort, he received a Certificate of Commendation from the U.S. Navy in 1945.
After the war, he was a Chief Electrician in the Merchant Marines. Harry was a long-time resident of his "beloved" Bay Area, where he grew up and spent most of his professional life. In 1969, he retired from Hexcel Corporation and later worked for Duro-Test Lighting.
As a staunch Democrat, Harry expressed his political activism by writing over 130 letters to members of Congress and editors of newspapers, 11 submissions of which were published in local papers.
He was a lifetime member of the California Alumni Association at UC Berkeley and a Master Mason of the Wenatchee Masonic Center, Riverside Lodge, No. 112, WA. Throughout his life, Harry donated to many causes, most frequently the Democratic Party, the American Indian Relief Fund and Food For The Poor. He loved to spend time working on astronomical calculations and reading a wide variety of literary works and scientific publications. His enthusiasm never wavered for the Giants, the 49ers, "Casablanca," "North by Northwest," Big Band music and home remedies, that seem to have worked. He will be remembered as a man of great integrity and principle, and a loving and devoted grandfather.
Harry's brother, Leonard, and sister, Katherine, predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; sister, Suzanne (husband, Sherman); brother, Richard; former wife, Ruth; son, Edmund (wife, Kathleen); daughters, Yvonne (Sidney), Marilyn (husband, John) and Dorothy (husband, Steven); seven grandchildren, Sarah, Stella, Benjamin, Jenifer, Theodore, Lydia and Peter; and six great grandchildren.
- Published in East Bay Times, 7 October 2008
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
