MILLINOCKET – Harry Neil Packard, 75, died peacefully in his sleep Monday, July 14, 2008, at home after a dignified battle with cancer. He was born March 12, 1933, in Mexico, Maine, the son of Hazel N. Hall and Harry Philbrook Packard. In 1950, he graduated from Lawrence High School as president of the senior class and captain of the basketball team. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command as a first gunner and weather observer on a B-36 bomber during the Korean War. His aircraft carried the atomic bomb. He married Shirley Lora LeClair of Fairfield in 1953. In 1960, he graduated from the University of Maine, Orono, with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in pulp and paper technology. That same year he moved his family to Millinocket to work for Great Northern Paper Co., where he served in various management positions until his retirement in 1991. Harry enjoyed the Maine woods, hunting, fishing and especially his camper and friends at Big Eddy Campground. He was a member of Millinocket Chapter No. 1521, B.P.O. Elks, Donald V. Henry Post No. 80, American Legion and Frances Elliot Post No. 4154, VFW. He is survived by his sister, Joyce Packard Hunt and her husband, Tom, of Rome, N.Y.; his brother, Keith Packard and his wife, Penelope, of Salisbury, Mass.; his three children, Karen Packard and her husband, Brian Peterson, of Westbrook, David Packard of East Hempstead, N.H., and Scott Packard of Bucksport; a grandson, Daniel Packard of Haverhill, Mass.; three nieces and four nephews. At Harry’s insistence, there will be no funeral services and the burial will be private. The family requests that gifts in memory of Harry be sent to Katahdin Area Support Group, 10 Field St., Millinocket, ME 04462. Messages of condolence may be expressed at www.lamsonfh.com.
HARRY NEIL PACKARD
