Harvey Herrmann

Farewell Harvey, a great friend and fellow member of the Jazz Cellar at Oakham School and the Sour Grapes Club formed when we left. Rest in peace Harvey,I will never forget you.Jenks

I knew Harvey my whole life. Maria and I were fortunate to have seen him only a few weeks before his parting from us. What a wonderful human being, so many great memories, and what a huge loss for everyone who knew him.

For over 17 years Harvey had been more than just a boss to me: he had been a mentor, a confidante and true friend. His genuine kindness and beautiful soul touched my life in many ways. RIP Harvey, you will be dearly missed.

I’m still finding it difficult to believe that Harvey is no longer with us as he was such a life force. So many wonderful memories and so many wonderful holidays spent together. He was a true and loyal friend to Bob and me and will be greatly missed. With much love to all the family

Harvey was our perfect neighbour for more than 50 years and will be sadly missed Graham & Stephanie

I have had the pleasure of knowing Harvey for almost all of my life – Clea was my best childhood friend, and we met Harvey, Jo and Clea on our favourite Mallorcan beach in 1978. I will always treasure happy memories of boat trips, beaches and barbecues with Raynard and Herrmann families – and always so much laughter and fun.

It was always a pleasure seeing Harvey, in Munich or in Kew – his generosity, kindness, fun, warmth made him so special to us. He was always interested in everyone’s stories – he loved people and wanted to be part of their lives. It was always special to have him around, talking about the boys (Raphi and Oli), Clea, rugby, cars (that would be with Hamish). Looking at these pictures – what an amazing life! Well done, Harvey! Thank you, Harvey for being such a good friend and for being part of our lives! We will miss you truly.

Dear dear Harvey  You truly gracious gentleman I treasured our strolls and tea and chat Our forays into books, films and tv,  And the world’s chaos from my fearful eyes  Adjusted through your gentle objective view  Each meeting grew fonder Each dialogue expanding its range Touching the edges of the personal  Then glide along for your late afternoon treat – Meurisse chocolate  And a closing fond hug  The spirit of which  Never fades

I My earliest recollection is when you invited me to dinner and after dinner we had a slide show and one of the photos was of a tortoise which Clea held in an open hand. “Would you like to see it’? remarked Harvey. In walked this huge animal hardly able to fit through the doorway. Harvey was never conventional in fact you could say he had a unique style, which I have been privileged to experience for over 40 years. There were the trips to New York to Paris to New Orleans with every trip there was a funny story. I stayed in 27 Leyborne and visited you in Majorca and you visited us in Sydney. You were always calm and relaxed. When on the way to New York we were caught in the biggest snow storm in a 100 years, you patiently stood in line for over three hours and read a whole book while trying to get an alternative flight. I never saw you get angry or lose your temper except in New Orleans where we had meetings on Monday.We met there on Saturday and you told me that you had sent your clothes for the meeting to the hotel laundry for express cleaning.When I got to my room on Saturday night I found all your laundry neatly hung up in my wardrobe.All Sunday you kept asking Reception for your laundry. They kept reassuring you and always ended by saying ” You all have a good time”.By Sunday night I still had your laundry.When you called them again and they still didn’t have your laundry and told you to have a good time you responded with “I bloody well won’t have a good time without any clothes”.I turned up later in your room with your clothes, we both had a good laugh. I’ll miss you terribly Harvey. I

I am very sad that you have passed away, dear Harvey. You were a wonderful person, a great listener and always had a smile on your face. I am glad that I was able to get to know you and I sympathise with your loved ones at this difficult time. Rest in peace, dear Harvey! Mandy

Harvey’s passing is a devastating loss of an exceptional person. I will cherish the memories shared with him, from engaging conversations over rose in the conservatory with the jazz music playing, to leisurely strolls through Kew Gardens, admiring the flowers and talking history, to al fresco dining in magical Mallorca. Harvey was warm and welcoming. I will never forget ringing in the new year together in Thailand, taking a quiet moment to soak in the celebrations with a stroll along the beach. I am grateful for the chance to have known him, and so fortunate to continue to experience Harvey through all of the ways he has shaped the love of my life, Simon.

Celebrating Harvey

Dearest Harvey was one of a kind, it is so difficult to put into to words how very special he was to us all. Harvey took so many of us under his wing as friends of His beloved Clea from the moment we became friends with Clea and this care love and support never ceased. When we first met we were young girls finding our way into our careers all living together in Mendora, enjoying all that London had to offer to us as single girls. We went on to share so many fun times together as we all got married and went on to have families of our own. Harvey ensured that we all stayed connected and created what we all came to call our Mallorca family. We are all so thankful for all the wonderful memories which we will treasure always. I remember Clea saying to me “I’ve never heard my Dad say a bad word about anyone “ and I have to say that from what I know this never changed, Harvey quietly spread joy in this world impacting so many people, more than I think any of us will ever know as he did so very privately. Both Clea and Harvey would always be there for you when you needed them, such amazing listeners and always so patient. Thank you for all your love Kathryn, Wale Maia & Max xx

It is terribly sad that Harvey has died. He was a big part of our lives – I am now in my mid-thirties and I cannot remember a time when Harvey was absent or not present. As a child, I remember going to Harvey and Jo’s and enjoying exploring the garden, or playing with the Zen garden they had in the living room. The Bombay Mix they served with the drinks was a bit spicy for me at the time, but every time I saw it in my later life, I would be reminded of Harvey and Jo. They were generous with us as children too – they always served us nice drinks in lovely glasses, which wasn’t what we were used to elsewhere. As we grew older, great cards from H&J (as they were sometimes known in our house) would arrive, usually with a generous cheque in in them to celebrate Christmas and birthdays. They did well to keep up with all of the addresses I had in my 20s! In adulthood, he was always interested and supportive, particularly of my husband Florian’s musical exploits. He could often be seen in the crowd of these big band gigs, most recently in Clapham, but previously at Pizza Express Jazz in Soho. He was also always happy to see us in Majorca, and my friends and I have fantastic memories of time spent around the pool at Harvey’s house, with a glass of rosado in hand. This photo was taken in May, which was when I last saw him. We’d had a wonderful day. He was unusual insofar as he was friends with both of my parents, Peter and Bettina, after their divorce, and had, of course, been a great school friend of Simon’s, who became my stepfather. He wrote me a very, very lovely letter after my father died in 2021, and it was a salutary reminder that he knew deep grief better than most. I am not sure that I have quite grasped yet that he has died, but I suppose that is how it always is when someone dies, whether expectedly or unexpectedly. I send my heartfelt condolences to all of his family and friends, and hope that they can find a path through this difficult time in their lives.

I first met Harvey in December 1987, when we dropped Clea to Leybourne, after our first term at Southampton University. He was immediately warm, kind, interesting and fun…putting the jazz on and serving canapés! Despite his own suffering, when I later went through a rough patch…he was unbelievably kind, empathetic and non-judgmental…this meant so much…and he extended the same warmth, and generosity of spirt, to my children. We went on to have some really special times in the magical island of Mallorca and for that we will be forever grateful. Cherished memories forever…thank you Harvey ❤️forever in our hearts Jo, Joseph and Hannah-Joy xxx “Good deeds are etched into eternity”