FARMINGTON — The life of Harvey Aft and his wife, Lorna, will be remembered and celebrated during a public memorial service planned for 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, in Nordica Auditorium at the University of Maine at Farmington.
The couple moved to Farmington in 1969 when Aft became a professor at UMF. He taught for 21 years before retiring as Professor Emeritus in 1990. Aft died on Sept. 8, Pat Carpenter, UMF director of gift planning and stewardship said Tuesday.
Colleagues, friends and former students are expected to participate in the service, which was requested by the family, she said.
“Aft was a fantastic teacher who was well-respected by the faculty,” said Al McDaniel, who will participate in the service.
McDaniel taught chemistry with Aft, although Aft was an organic biochemist while McDaniel was an inorganic chemist, a fact Aft often reminded McDaniel of as he spoke of something inorganic chemists had done, McDaniel said.
McDaniel said he might have been concerned except that Aft would say it with a big smile on his face.
“He had a wonderful sense of humor,” McDaniel said.
Although Aft’s wife died in 2011, there will be some emphasis on her and their marriage during the service, Carpenter said.
“They were married 58 years,” she said of the man who spent every day of his wife’s last two years visiting her in a local nursing home and helping her through her struggle with Alzheimer’s.
After Aft retired, an annual award, the Harvey Aft Award for Excellence in Chemistry, was established at UMF, Carpenter said. A generous gift from Aft began the monetary award given to students who excel in upper-level chemistry courses, demonstrate interest in chemistry and project a positive attitude toward the field.
Aft wanted to honor student achievement and help them pursue degrees in chemistry, she said.
During his teaching years, Aft also did some notable research, including working with students to find a better red food dye, McDaniel said. That was no small feat for a man who was red-green colorblind, he added.
Following the service Saturday, a reception will follow at the Ferro House at 242 Main Street on the UMF campus. The public is welcome.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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