On Thursday July 14, 2022, a beautiful Colorado summer day, Harry O. Hempy, of Jamestown and Boulder unexpectedly walked out of this world and into the next. Chum, as he was known to his family and childhood friends, was born in Columbus, GA, but grew up in Kansas City, MO, the big brother to his 3 younger siblings. He graduated from Park Hill Senior High in Kansas City (63), Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH (67) and earned his Masters in Mathematics from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (69).
Harry’s professional life began in 1968 when he joined IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY, as a junior programmer and his career with IBM spanned more than 3 decades. From New York to Boulder to Tucson and back to Boulder, Harry served in various capacities ranging from all night performance evaluations on mass storage systems, to designing architecture and microcode of magnetic tape subsystems to senior programmer and analyst, receiving many awards and commendations along the way as well and he co-wrote several patents as well. Personal highlights of his time with IBM include a variety of extended assignments in other locales including Japan, England, Germany, San Diego and Northern California.
While his career was one of an analyst, Harry relished his life as an activist. He was raised in a family with a commitment to civic engagement, with his father serving on the local school board. His social awareness having grown through his time at Antioch, the political turmoil of the US in the late 60’s and the growing opposition to US involvement in Vietnam followed by the Kent State Massacre, solidified for Harry his role and responsibility as a citizen to be involved. Harry gave tirelessly of himself in his efforts to stand up for the little guy. A lifelong Democrat, he served on the Arizona Democratic State Committee while in Tucson, as well as deep involvement in the Tucson Unified School District. In Colorado, he was a member of the Boulder County Dems for many years and served as a lobbyist testifying on behalf of the League of Women Voters at the Capitol in Denver. was around 2012 that his real distaste for the two party system solidified and he left the Democratic Party, joining the Greens, and running a successful campaign for Governor of Colorado. And by successful, that doesn’t mean he won, but that he held his own, campaigned hard, debated, brought legitimate discourse to the election and actually “got some votes!” He is known for his activism and has used his voice to speak out against the many societal injustices and inequities that exist throughout our local and global community. He has served in countless volunteer capacities throughout Boulder County through the years.
Besides just being an all around nice guy, Harry was a woodworker and also a mighty athlete and fierce competitor. He loved sailing his little Sunfish back in the day and he had his time dominating the racquetball court. He coached and played softball and kickball. He loved to golf. In recent years he took up and excelled at pickleball, encouraging others to join this fun new sport. He was a heck of a bridge player, an intense puzzle aficionado and was a chess champion as well. He loved the Colorado mountains and took pride in summiting Buchanan Pass to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Harry leaves behind his life co- adventurer, his wife Sally Hempy of 44 years. Harry met Sally in 1976 through their sons’ Cub Scouts in Boulder. According to Sally “he liked the way I looked in my uniform”! They quickly became inseparable, married in 1978, and have been side by side together since. After returning to Boulder in 1995, they completed their beloved ‘Mountain Home’ in the Bar K Ranch and quickly became fixtures in Jamestown. They could often be found supporting the BarK HOA, JAM, and anything bolstering the Merc and Jamestown in general. They lived up the hill for nearly 30 years, creating family memories that will not be forgotten. Contrary to their plans, as life can be, Harry and Sally were forced to move to Boulder in 2021 as the realities of aging and mountain living collided.
Besides his gal Sal, he is survived by his children Ted Hempy and David/ Jeanne Hempy of Kentucky, Gene/Kelly Crout of Arvada, and Joan Knudson of Boulder. He was Granddad or Poppa Harry to 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild: Cory/Lynsey Gray, Shanda, Tank, and Chance Hempy and twins Oscar and Kindle Hempy, all of Kentucky and his Colorado grandchildren Carly/Kai Sargent-Knudson and Dana Knudson and Brianna/Guy DeBoer and Jordan Crout and the youngest, little Rune Sargent- Knudson, making Harry truly Great. In addition he leaves behind his siblings Jane/John Martin, Ted/Anita Hempy, Anne Harness of MO and their children, his many nieces and nephews, as well as other extended family members. He is also survived by very close family friends Kathleen, Hailey and Mackenzie Calcagno.
Beyond his family, Harry will be missed by the many pickleball players, bridge players and community activists who have had the pleasure of knowing him. The family would like to give special thanks to all the first responders and citizens who helped with his abrupt passing. We are truly grateful his transition was quick and he was surrounded by such caring people. No services have been planned at this time. Contributions in Harry’s memory can be directed to the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center in Boulder, Colorado.
