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The life and times of Thomas Harvel began
on September 10, 1946 in Chillicothe, Illinois. They ended
on January 15, 2008 in Peoria. In between, Thom became a devoted
spouse, dedicated father, cherished friend and accomplished
and respected lawyer. The famous American, Will Rogers, is
reputed to have said “I never met a man I didn't like”. We
can say without reservation that we never met a man, or woman,
who didn't like Thom Harvel.
Thom grew up in Peoria attending Central
High School and then Bradley University. He graduated with
honors from Bradley in 1968. He then made the unfathomable,
to some of us, decision to go to Iowa to attend law school
enrolling at Drake University Law School. His legal education
was interrupted by service in the United States Army with
a tour of duty in Vietnam. His time in Vietnam had a profound
impact on Thom throughout his life, as it did for so many
who served in that conflict. Thom returned to Drake and graduated
in 1972. He then returned to Peoria looking to start his legal
career with a firm practicing labor relations law.
Thom was hired as an associate by the firm
of Westervelt, Johnson, Nicoll & Keller where he spent
his entire legal career. He started out as the protégé
of Homer Keller. It is hard to imagine how he landed the job.
Juxtapose the image of a middle aged arch-conservative Homer
Keller with the image of a young Thom Harvel, a product of
the 60s, made all the more rebellious by his Vietnam War experience,
sporting a mustache and long hair worn in a ponytail. It must
have been his, as always “You can't help but like this guy”
persona and his readily perceived intellect. Homer and Thom
quickly became the Batman and Robinesque champions of the
cause of management for many Peoria area companies.
While at Drake, Thom met a fellow student,
Nile Williamson, and through Nile met his sister, Susan Williamson.
Thom and Susan were married on December 30, 1975. Thom's marriage
to Susan was the best thing that ever happened to Thom. Thom
was devoted to Susan for the rest of his life and understandably
so as she returned the favor. Thom and Susan raised two lovely
daughters, Meghan and Lauren. No father could have been prouder,
more dedicated and attentive. The Harvel household was always
a fun place to visit if you didn't mind the ever present assortment
of bulldogs for which Thom had a penchant.
Thom quickly became a trusted and respected
counselor to his many clients in the labor relations field.
He focused his practice on civil rights and employment discrimination
matters representing employers. His favorite legal task was
brief writing. Thom had a love of the written word and his
secretaries needed to keep a dictionary and lexicon handy
at all times. He always represented the interests of management,
but a fitting tribute was paid to Thom by the personnel director
of a longtime client who said: “We will really miss Thom.
He always put the human in human relations”.
Thom had a varied physical appearance throughout
his career as a lawyer. The recounted recollections of Thom's
physical appearance among those who had only a passing or
short acquaintanceship with him are amazingly varied. He was
thin. He was heavy. He was clean-shaven. He had a mustache
and/or a full beard. He had long hair, big hair (a la 70s
style), short hair and at the end, alas, no hair. He might
at times have reminded you of Peter Sellers and at others,
Burl Ives.
Thom loved music. His taste in music was
as varied as his appearance. He could appreciate and savor
an opera performance by Pavarotti as much as a rousing rendition
of Shout. Perhaps he enjoyed 60s era rock and roll more than
opera and symphony only because he could dance to the former
– and could he dance! Some of Thom's boogeying down performances
at dances and parties are legendary. During a classic rock
performance at the Peoria Civic Center Theatre, the audience's
attention was drawn to the box seats by a gyrating figure.
It was just Thom being uninhibited and moving to the music.
Thom became aware of his cancer almost
two years before it bested him. He knew from the outset that
the odds were against him, but he wasn't deterred from the
fight. He underwent all treatment available and continued
to come into the office and practice his profession as if
nothing was awry. He thought he had it beaten; but, as with
much of what we deal with as lawyers, victory was uncertain
and fleeting. The most remarkable thing about Thom's handling
of what was to be his final file was that he never complained
or felt sorry for himself. You never heard from Thom a “Why
me?” or “What did I do to deserve this?”. His lament was:
“I'm sorry I'm leaving. I'm sorry for letting you down”.
Thom Harvel passed from this life on January
15, 2008. As we all know, words are fleeting and, for lawyers,
often only a means to an end. It is not the words that define
us as lawyers, it is what we say and do on a daily basis that
really matters. Thom Harvel was our partner and our friend.
He was an accomplished lawyer. But Thom Harvel was so much
more and for that he will be long missed and fondly remembered.
We mourn his passing, but celebrate all that he gave us during
his life.
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