Grantham, N.H. —
Harry was born in East Orange, N.J., the son of Harry Reynolds Critchley, Sr. and Sarah B. Critchley (nee Cook). In his youth, he lived in Chicago, Ottumwa, Iowa and Wheeling, W.Va., before returning to New Jersey where he graduated from Teaneck High School in 1952 .
Harry attended Colgate University and was a member of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity, and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956. He was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force and trained as a navigator. He married June L. Marschall, also from Teaneck, in January 1959. They raised two children, John and Elizabeth, while moving every few years to various air force bases including Weisbaden, Germany. Along the way, Harry earned his Masters Degree in Human Engineering from Purdue University.
Harry received several awards during his Air Force career. The one for which he felt the most honored was The Distinguished Flying Cross award for his service in the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing at the Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand in 1968. He flew radar jamming missions in support of allied forces as the Reconnaissance Aircraft Electronic Warfare officer.
Harry retired from the Air Force at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in1977 and began his second career as the Vice President/Comptroller of his father-in-law’s grocery warehousing business, Marschall Warehouse Co., in Teterboro, N.J. The family resided in Oradell, N.J. where they lived until Harry’s retirement, when they moved to Grantham.
Harry’s greatest passion was music. He was an accomplished tuba player since the age of 12. He played in many different amateur and professional groups throughout his entire life, including the Dayton Municipal Band, the Ridgewood Concert Band, The Teaneck Summer Band, The Upper Valley Community Band, and the Dartmouth Wind Ensemble. He stopped playing at age 80 due to failing eyesight.
Harry enjoyed his music, his family, and his many good friends. He always had a pertinent story to add to any conversation, and he was most at home with musicians and fellow veterans. He was a gracious and social being. He enjoyed touring the countryside on a motorcycle most of his life. He was an accomplished photographer and enjoyed the outdoors in his younger years. Harry had a technical aptitude and was an avid audiophile and early adopter of computer technology. He was especially grateful to discover his Critchley cousins in the last two decades of his life, and spent many enjoyable times with Anne Sapio Critchley of Quechee, Vt.
Harry is survived by his wife, June; his son, John and his wife, Beth of Clinton, Conn.; his daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, David Sobel, of Washington, DC; his granddaughter, Sarah Critchley of Cambridge, Mass.; his grandson, Zachary Critchley of Binghamton, N.Y., and his grandsons, Joshua and Elijah Sobel of Washington, DC.
A burial service will be held at Indian River Cemetery in Clinton, Conn. on August 1 at 12 noon. A Memorial Service will be held at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Hanover, N.H. at 11 a.m. on Sept. 10.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Upper Valley Community Band of Hanover, N.H.