LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — On May 30, 2021, Harry Ben Lovisone passed away at the ripe old age of 98; his health had been declining for several months.

He died peacefully at home in the care of his faithful love, Barbara.

Harry was born in Lower Lake on Feb. 6, 1923. His father and mother, Louis and Josephine Lovisone, already had two children: a daughter named Alma and a son named Gene.

Harry attended elementary school at the Lower Lake Schoolhouse, which is now a museum. He then went on to complete 12 years of formal education at Lower Lake Union High School; he graduated with the Class of 1942.

Harry grew up working in his family’s walnut orchard. When he was old enough he took any odd jobs that he could find. One of these required him to trap gophers for $0.05 apiece.

During World War II, Harry enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served as a military police officer in the Mediterranean Theater.

In 1946, he was honorably discharged and returned home to California. He used his GI Bill benefits to enter the machinist apprentice program in the East Bay. At this same time, he began working as an apprentice machinist for Jacuzzi Brothers’ Pumps.

In 1950, following his completion of his apprentice program, Harry accepted an employment offer from Lawrence Radiation Lab. He worked at both the Berkeley and Livermore laboratories until he “retired” 15 years later.

Throughout this time Harry resided in Richmond because the Bay Area is where the work was located.

Harry’s heart, however, belonged in Lake County. Harry’s work ethic and his desire to provide for his family prompted him to buy 17 acres in Lower Lake. His father helped him plant walnut trees on his newly acquired property. His dad taught him how to graft English walnut trees onto the black walnut trunks.

Throughout the entire time that he lived in the East Bay, Harry worked the five weekdays at Lawrence Labs and traveled home to Lower Lake to tend his growing walnut ranch.

In early 1964, following his “retirement,” Harry added to his walnut holdings by purchasing the 80 acre Sacket Orchard on Round Mountain. Following the purchase, Harry moved his family from Richmond to Clearlake Oaks.

Under Harry’s care the orchards flourished. But his entrepreneurial instinct caused him to recognize an opportunity. Because of Lake County’s rural and agrarian nature it needed a skilled machinist to tend to the well pumps that supplied water to homes and farms.

So Harry started his own successful business, Lovisone Pumps, in Lower Lake. In the southern portion of the county there are few pumps that Harry has not been involved with in some capacity.

Harry’s true passion was the outdoors. He was an avid hunter who tramped the mountains of Northern California and Nevada in search of deer and elk. Harry was also an avid fisherman who has fished lakes, rivers, and streams all across the west coast states.

In 1996, Harry met someone who shared his joy of fishing. He and Barbara were soon married and became true partners in all that they did.

Harry’s love of fishing was probably second only to his love for Barbara. For the next 25 years, their adventures took them all across the south Western United States.

In the winter they would camp near Crescent City and fish for Steelhead in the Smith River. Barbara caught a 20 pound steelhead, bringing an end to Harry’s reign as the Steelhead King.

During the summers they would rendezvous at Eagle Lake with some 30 friends for a two- to three-week camping adventure. During the day Harry and Barbara would be out on the lake, in their Ranger fishing boat, fishing for Eagle Lake trout.

In the evenings, with a belly full of Eagle Lake trout, they would join their fellow adventurers around campfires and revel in a quality of friendship and fellowship that few have ever known.

Come fall, Harry and Barbara would camp out along the Sacramento River. Each morning, they would pilot their Ranger boat out onto the river in hopes of landing a salmon. In whispered tones they would debate whether this year’s recipe for “smelly jelly” would do the trick.

Once again, Barbara displayed her skill at angling. Her biggest salmon was larger than Harry’s biggest salmon (there must be something in the way that women bait the hook — lol).

Recently, Harry and Barbara traded the cold winter days on the Smith River for the fun and sun of Yuma, Arizona. Each fall they would make the pilgrimage from Clearlake to Yuma where they had a modest winter home. They made new friends who introduced them to new adventures.

They both medaled in the senior Olympics. They annually watched in awe the flawless precision of the Marine Corps’ Silent Drill Team.

And their friends introduced them to dune buggies. Harry bought a buggy made from an old VW Super Beetle. They spent countless hours tearing up the dirt roads of the Arizona Mountains.

Harry remained very active until the last three months of his life. If he and Barbara weren’t cruising the waters of Clear Lake in his pontoon boat then they were cruising the streets of Clearlake in his red 1986 Corvette.

Then suddenly he became very weak and had difficulty walking. Harry’s stepdaughter is a registered nurse. She opined that “after 98 years of use the respective parts of Harry’s body had simply worn out.” Unfortunately, none of us come with replacement parts.

The last few weeks of Harry’s life were a testament to the wealth of friendships that he has cultivated over the years. People from all over stopped by the house to visit Harry and to have what would be their very last conversation with him. Distant friends called from as far away as Canada. Such was the impact that Harry had on the lives of so many individuals.

When Harry drew in his last breath he was resting comfortably in his bed, nestled away in a home that overflowed with the love of so many friends and relatives. Barbara, his wife of 25 years, was sitting with him at that moment.

Harry is survived by his spouse, Barbara Dryden; his son, Larry, and daughter-in-law, Mary; his son, Mikael; stepson, Jeffrey Dryden; stepdaughters, Karen Suenram (Darrell) and Linda Dryden Del Valle; grandson, Anthony Lovisone; granddaughters, Britney Linn and Grace Suenram; great-grandchildren, Sierra, Lacy and Ty Lovisone; nephew, Gene Lovisone; nieces, Tish Lovisone and Dawn Biano (Tony); brother-in-law, Dennis Pluth; and close friend, Dennis Del Valle.

A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 11, at the Masonic Hall, Highway 53.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the charity of your choice.

You may leave thoughts and condolences online at www.jonesandlewismemorialchapel.com.