Harold L. Loney, age 84, died on June 23, 2008, in Fort Myers, Florida, after a long and arduous battle with Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Barbara, now of Ft. Myers, Florida, daughter and son-in law, Bill & Julin Lynn of Grant, FL, son and daughter-in-law James & Pam Loney of West Chesterfield, NH, grandchildren Heather Loney of Memphis, TN, Joshua Conlon of Brookline, MA, James H. Loney of Charlotte, NC, and Andrew and Breen Loney of West Chesterfield, NH. He is also survived by two great grandchildren, Alexa and Anna Loney of Charlotte, NC.
The son of James and Mary Averell Loney, Harold was born in Springfield, MA on October 5, 1923. He moved to Brattleboro, VT when he was a small child and lived there until his retirement. Harold attended Brattleboro area schools as well as Tilton Academy in New Hampshire. His secondary education included attendance at Norwich University, and the University of Vermont.
A veteran of World War II, Harold was a navigator for a C-47 in the US Army Air Force Air Transport Command. He traveled to over 40 countries, crossing the equator in a B-17 for the first time on October 10, 1945 Harold’s memories of service include flying dynamite and gasoline into the Battle of the Bulge and participating in the liberation of German concentration camps..
Harold worked as an estimator and project manager for Russell Cushman & sons in Brattleboro until 1957 when he founded H. Loney Construction Company, Inc. Harold constructed many commercial, institutional, municipal, industrial, and multi-family buildings throughout Vermont & New Hampshire until retiring from the company he founded in 1985. He was a Town of Brattleboro Selectman ,a life member of the Brattleboro Elks Lodge # 1499, a past member of the Brattleboro Country Club, as well as a Mason and member of the Cairo Shrine. An avid boater, Harold spent many happy years boating up and down the Eastern seabord. He was a member of Boat US, the Indiantown Shipbuilding and Watch Repair Yacht Club, the Isles Yacht Club, and the St. Charles Harbor Yacht Club.
He will be remembered by his family as a loving, honorable and responsible man.
Interment of Harold’s ashes will take place in Brattleboro in the fall.
