William Barner Harbach, 88, of 1 West Sycamore Place, Lewisburg, formerly of Loganton, entered into rest at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, at Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village.
He was born on Jan. 9, 1924, in Loganton, the son of the late Ray Lee and Cathryn Elizabeth (Barner) Harbach. On Aug. 29, 1946, in Loganton, by the Rev. Thurman R. Hustler, he married the former Betty Louise Kerstetter, who survives.
On Oct. 2, 1946, in Harrisburg, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army serving in World War II until his honorable discharge on May 5, 1947, in Augusta, Ga. While enlisted he served with the 336th Army Service Force Band as a clarinetist, and was awarded the World War Two Victory Medal.
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He was a graduate of Sugar Valley High School, class of 1941. He then earned his B.S. in mathematics from Lock Haven University, class of 1945, and his Master of Education from Bucknell University, class of 1949.
Mr. Harbach began his career as an educator, teaching mathematics in the Ulysses Schools, Potter County, Pa. He then taught mathematics and was the principal in the Bald Eagle-Nittany Valley Schools. Finally he taught mathematics in the Sugar Valley School from 1956 thru 1970, and then served as principal of the Sugar Valley Schools in the Keystone Central School District from 1970 until his retirement in 1979.
Bill was a member of Saint Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Loganton, where he served on and was past president of the church council. He also served on the Sugar Valley-Nittany Valley Joint Church Council, was the Mayor of Loganton, and a member of the Lewisville Lodge No. 556, Free and Accepted Masons, and Blue Lodge, Potter County.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are one son and daughter-in-law, Chester M. and Jean L. Harbach of Monticello, Ark.; one granddaughter, Shelley Lynn Pruett; one great-grandson, Alex McCarty; one brother and sister-in-law, Gene C. and Betty Harbach of Bedford. Also, survived by several nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to a memorial service to honor Bill at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 9, 2012, at the Village Common at Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village, Six Tressler Blvd., Lewisburg, with the Rev. Theodore L. Cockley, Chaplin to Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village, officiating. Following the service there will be a reception.
Private interment will be in Fairview Cemetery, Loganton.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Bill's memory may be sent to St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Six W. Main St., Loganton, PA 17747.
To share in Bill's remembrance, please visit www.adamofh.com.
Funeral arrangements are by the Dominick T. Adamo Funeral Home, 247 Chestnut St., Mifflinburg.
