1919 – 2003

SOUTH PARIS – Harold Arthur Bedient Jr. (Art), 84, of Norway, died Nov. 3, at the Maine Veterans’ Home after many years with Alzheimer’s disease.

Born in Ithaca, N.Y., May 8, 1919, he was the eldest son of Harold A. Bedient Sr. and Florence Whitmer Bedient.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Margaret Mason Bedient and is survived by his present wife of 25 years, Thelma Taylor (Ward) Bedient of Norway.

“Art” attended schools in several states where his father served as pastor. He graduated with honors from Park College in Missouri in 1941 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps that year. Following separation from the service in 1946, he earned a master’s degree in meteorology from the University of Chicago. He then reentered the Air Force and was assigned to the Air Weather Service in Washington, D.C. and in Germany. He was later assigned to the U.S. Weather Bureau in Suitland, Md. In 1965 he retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Col.

During his military career he received the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon with two bronze stars, Commendation Ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal and other awards.

He then became the chief of the automation division of the National Meteorological Center, a part of NOAA. While at NOAA he was awarded the Commerce Gold Medal, the Silver Medal and several other awards. He was affectionately known as the “Father of Weather Automation.” He retired from the National Meteorological Center in 1983.

He was active in the Presbyterian Church, but returned to his Methodist roots later in life. He also sang with the National Cathedral Choral Society in Washington, D.C. for more than 15 years. He loved sailing, hiking, reading and lively conversations.

He is survived by his children, Elizabeth J. Bedient and her husband, John W. Lathrop of Aurora, Colo., Robert M. Bedient of Rocky Mount, Mo., Bruce F. Bedient and his wife, Susan A. of Lawrenceville, N.J., Susan F. Bedient of Port Townsend, Wash., and Ann L. Bedient of Easton, Md.; his stepchildren, Jerry J. Ward and his wife, Marjorie P. of Marietta, Ga., Barbara A. Haveland and her husband, Richard D. of Key West, Fla., Jeffrey A. Ward and his wife, Janet F. of Norway and Susan L. Burkey and her husband, James C. of Nashville, Tenn.; 17 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; four siblings, Phillip E. Bedient of Dalton, Mass., Jack D. Bedient of Scottsdale, Ariz., C. Kenneth Bedient of Cheboygan, Mich., and Irene B. Tetzlaff of Kalamazoo, Mich.

He was predeceased by his sister, Jane B. Ware of Burr Oak, Mich.