Ortonville – Educator, leader and father Harvey Fletcher’s dedication to community will be indelibly etched in the lore of area history.
Fletcher died Jan. 8, 2004 at his winter home in Zephyrhills, Fla.
He was 69.
Fletcher was born in Peck, Mich. in 1934, to parents Russell and Hattie Fletcher. He graduated from Peck High School in 1952 and attended Northern Michigan University in Marquette where he graduated with an Education Degree in 1957.
In November 1956 Fletcher married Patricia White, a Marquette native whom he loving called ‘Red.?
In 1957 Fletcher landed his first teaching job in the Brandon School District where he taught industrial arts and mathematics. Fletcher coached the Ortonville High School basketball team for many years and led the team to state championship games during the 1959-61 basketball seasons. During his 10- year stint as coach he was named Oakland County Coach of the Year. He also coached baseball with the Brandon District.
‘Harvey Fletcher was almost an icon in this community,? said Fletcher Intermediate Principal Don Patrick, who worked for many years with Fletcher.
‘He had so many friends and he was such a social person. Everybody knew Harvey Fletcher.?
The couple remained in Ortonville where they raised six children: Cindy, Bob, Mike, Val, Kevin, and Jodi, until his retirement from Brandon School District in 1989. While the Fletchers kept their permanent home in Ortonville, the couple spent January through March in Zephyrhills, Fla.
Having been an exceptional football and basketball player in both high school and college, Fletcher brought sportsmanship, fairness, and foresight into both his scholastic career and the lives of his students in Brandon.
‘Here we were, a team from little old Ortonville and we whipped Clarkston, which was the team to beat,? said Bob Harvey, long time colleague and friend.
‘The team had talent and spirit which Harv brought it together. The players just loved him, he had a way with kids.?
Bob Harvey met Fletcher in 1957. The spent their academic careers together, first as teachers then in administration as principals.
‘We crossed paths together as principals and worked together, and he was a fair thinking person,? said Harvey.
During his 31-year career in the Brandon School District, Fletcher brought the middle school concept together incorporating the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. He was named the first middle school principal at Brandon Middle School. The Harvey Fletcher Foundation Scholarship was named in his honor at the high school.
‘As a supervisor of teachers and students he was fun-loving with strictness,? said Patrick.
‘The kids and teachers just loved him and Harv’s building was always the best place to work. He was just a loving man, who loved golf, swimming, and his grandchildren. He knew how to play hard and work hard and learn to balance that throughout his life.?
Always far thinking, says Patrick, Fletcher used his negotiation skills to successfully work on and help pass two separate bonds to build both Fletcher Intermediate and a new Brandon High school.
After he retired in 1990 the Brandon School District dedicated the Middle School in his name. According to Don Patrick, at the time it was Fletcher Middle School and has since become Fletcher Intermediate School.
Although Harvey was an avid lover of golf he was not ready for the permanent greens of Zephyrhills and served as manager of the Village of Ortonville from 1989 to 1996.
Long time friend and former municipal colleague Sue Bess said Fletcher came to the rescue of anyone who needed it.
‘He was the most fair manager we’ve ever had,? Bess said. ‘Harv never judged anything unless he heard both sides of the story. He was a caring person with a sense of community.?
‘A person who really cared for his fellow man,? said Bess.
A funeral mass was celebrated Saturday, Jan. 17 at St. Anne Catholic Church, in Ortonville.
Along with his wife Pat, Fletcher was survived by siblings Leonard, Betty (Stan Griggs, Max (Delores), sister-in-law, Pat, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings George, Annabelle (Bill) Rich, and sister-in-law Ethel (Leonard).