Highway superintendent remembered

PINE PLAINS — Robert Harpp Sr., 64, Pine Plains’ highway superintendent for the past decade, died Feb. 6 after a long battle with lymphoma.

A funeral service was held the following Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the First United Presbyterian Church  in Pine Plains. It was attended by a large number of law enforcement (Harpp’s son, also Robert, is a detective with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office) and Highway Department representatives from many neighboring towns.

En route to the interment, dozens of highway trucks and vehicles proceeded down Main Street and through the central stoplight in Pine Plains, paying tribute to Harpp.

Harpp was born April 5, 1945, in Sharon and was raised in Millerton. He was a member of the North East highway crew in the 1960s, and married Judy Harpp, who is currently the town clerk in Pine Plains, in 1966. After moving to Pine Plains, he worked for Dutchess County Diesel for 23 years.

“He’s driven a truck all of his life,� remembered his wife.

In addition to the Highway Department, Harpp was also the past chief and member of the Pine Plains Hose Company and the Pine Plains Rescue Squad, and a past member of the auxiliary for the Pine Plains Police Department.

He is remembered for his love of NASCAR racing, his favorite driver being Dale Earnhardt, and was instrumental in rejuvenating the Babe Ruth/senior league baseball program in Pine Plains.

“He loved the town of Pine Plains,� Judy said. “He just felt it was a great community, and he loved doing things for the town.�

The town clerk described her husband as strong and devoted, a family man and a perfectionist.

“He was very dedicated to whatever he got into,� she said, “and not just his job but stock car racing and everything else. You can ask anyone in town about the lawn. It always looked like a golf course fairway, they said. And he was very proud of everything he had with his family and kids and what he, and we, had accomplished.�

The support the family received at the funeral was amazing, she continued, and “really quite a tribute to what they thought of him as a person and as a highway superintendent. He definitely would have felt very honored.�

“The town will forever be grateful [to the Harpp family] for sharing a husband and father with us,� said town Supervisor Gregg Pulver at the funeral service. “Bob did everything by the book and did the best job anyone could have done for the town of Pine Plains.�

Pulver said Harpp was a model employee and, most of all, a personal friend. Many days were spent driving around in a pickup truck, he remembered, sometimes talking about work but mostly talking about life.

“It’s tough, but the pain will ease,� he concluded, “and the memories will go on forever.�