John J. Harter
07/27/1944 - 08/29/2016

~~John Joseph Harter, 72, of Chatham, died on August 29, 2016 at Morristown Memorial Hospital following a brief battle with cancer.

The son of Joseph F. and Rita (Mulligan) Harter, John was born on July 27, 1944 in San Antonio, Texas. The oldest of three brothers, John grew up in Chatham, NJ, where he lived for most of his life.

John graduated from Chatham High School in 1962. He went on to attend Wesleyan University, graduating in 1966 with a BA in History. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Officer Candidate School of the Marine Corps at Quantico and, after serving in Vietnam from May 1967 to May 1968, John was honorably discharged in 1973. John was encouraged by the warm support bestowed upon veterans in recent years and was delighted to have been a guest speaker at a Veterans Day event at one of his grandchildren’s schools this past year. Upon his return from Vietnam, John spent his career in a variety of roles at Citibank in New York City, from which he retired in 2001. For many years, John facilitated import/export financing for clients of the bank. As part of several of his roles at the bank, John traveled abroad extensively to an incredibly long and varied list of countries, and John enjoyed meeting with local colleagues and clients and experiencing new cultures. More importantly, John’s travels provided terrific content for this gifted storyteller.

In 1970, he traveled to Mexico for a well-earned vacation. At a local bar he saw a beautiful woman who was vacationing with her friends. Ever persistent, John finally convinced her to dance with him. Little did he know that falling for this Canadian nurse would mean many weekends driving to Montreal, Canada. John and Lynda (Carra) were married on August 14, 1971 in Montreal and began their married life together in New Jersey. Mexico has been a special place and frequent vacation spot for them ever since.

John loved all sports – soccer, swimming, golf, tennis, hockey – just to name a few. And it wasn’t just playing those sports that he enjoyed; watching and coaching were just as much fun for him. Growing up, he was known for his swimming abilities. When his children were young, John coached many seasons of soccer. As an adult, he enjoyed his weekly tennis matches and rounds of golf. Even recently, if there was a local high school game – of any sport – John was there supporting the kids on the field and supporting all things Chatham.

John was a member of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham where he was particularly fond of the 7:30 a.m. “express” mass. John was a member of the Fairmont Country Club. An amateur ornithologist, John also loved spending time at the beach with family, reading, completing crossword puzzles and taking extra time during trivia games because he just knew the answer somewhere deep down (and everyone had to wait while he banged his fists on the ground until the answer came to him.)

John is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Lynda Harter. He is also survived by his four children, Carolyn Lyon of Wilton, CT and her husband Chris, Eric Harter of Arlington, VA, Carl Harter of Morristown, NJ and his wife Kelly, Mark Harter of Madison, NJ and his wife Molly and his eight grandchildren who refer to him as Papa John: Alexandra, Zachary, Hallie, Brayden, Declan, Carly, Brooklyn and William. John is also survived by his brother Robert of Hilton Head, SC, and his wife Lynne, sister-in-law Lynn Harter of Hilton Head, SC, sister-in-law Louise Carra of Prevost, Quebec and her husband Claude and brother-in-law Richard Carra of Piedmont, Quebec and his partner France, many nieces and nephews and many other beloved family members and friends. In addition to his parents, John was predeceased by his brother Richard.

A wake will be held at Bradley Funeral Home 345 Main St, Chatham, NJ on Thursday, September 1, 2016 from 6 to 9pm. A funeral service will be at Corpus Christi Church 234 Southern Blvd, Chatham, NJ on Friday, September 2, 2016 at 10am.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The PMD Foundation, 1 Green Tree Center, 10000 Lincoln Drive East, Suite 201, Marlton, N.J. 08053 or The Chatham High School Athletic Boosters PO Box 543 Chatham, NJ 07928.


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