AUBURN — Harvey J. Humphrey, 87, of 147 Fairway Drive, Auburn, died Friday, July 15, at his home. A longtime resident of Framingham, Mass., he moved to his son’s home in Auburn several years ago due to illness.

He was born in Springfield, Mass., June 17, 1924, the son of Stephen Sr. and Margaret White Humphrey. Following high school, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was trained and served as an electronic countermeasures officer, flying in B-29’s at the end of World War II in the South Pacific. He also served in the USAF Strategic Air Command as an ECM officer on a B-36 crew during the Korean War, flying out of Travis AFB in California.

Harvey graduated from MIT in 1949, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He practiced his craft at a number of companies including Chase Brass and Copper, Boston Gear and the Supersonic Wind tunnel at MIT. He also managed to merge his passion with his profession when he worked for the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in the early to mid 1950s.

His love for all things related to railroading manifested itself in a lifelong association with the National Model Railroad Association, where he served in a number of positions in the HUB Division.

Through his work at Raytheon, and Lytron Inc, he became a specialist in thermodynamic design, designing the cooling system for the Hawk Surface to Air Missile at Raytheon, and for a number of commercial applications at Lytron including mainframe computers and CAT scanners.

On Sept. 5, 1953, he married the former Aldene Ellen Coakley, who passed away in August 2004. A member of St. Bridget’s Church in Framingham, he loved time spent with family and friends, and was also a steadfast supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, serving with Troop 21 in Framingham for more than 20 years.

Harvey had a love for good designs of any type of transportation vehicle, whether a car, truck, fire engine, ship, boat or plane. He thrilled to the sight and sound of high energy machines operating at the edge of the control envelope. He held a lifelong fascination for the intricacies of these vehicles, and loved to share his enthusiasm with others.

Survivors include five sons, Harvey Jr. of South Bend, Ind., Robert and wife, Denise, of Saline, Mich., Charles and wife, Rita, of Auburn, Scott and partner, Reuben Ramirez, of Austin, Texas, and Alden and wife, Pavani Challapalli, of Washington, D.C.; three daughters-in-law, Kim Humphrey of Auburn, Kimberly Sweeney Row of Gaithersburg, Md., and Collette Couture of South Bend, Ind.; two sisters, Nancy and husband, Robert Johnson, of Hernando, Fla., and Mary Jane and husband, Larry White, of Rowley, Mass.; 16 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Besides his loving wife, he was predeceased by a son, William, who passed in 1998; and four brothers, Stephen Jr., Gerald, Eddie, and Kenny Humphrey.

Condolences and a photo tribute may be accessed online at www.albert-burpee.com.

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