Obituaries

The Lake Oswego Review, Nov 19, 2009

Jennifer Harvester

Jennifer Nadine Harvester died Nov. 15, 2009 at the age of 61 of breast cancer.

Ms. Har-vester was born Oct. 16, 1948 in Kulm, N.D., to John and Edwina Harvester. She grew up in tiny Gackle, N.D.

Upon graduation from high school she attended North Dakota State University to study chemistry, while her family moved to Washington state after her father’s death.

She became a teacher and her first teaching job was in East Detroit, Mich. She also taught in Evergreen schools and at Lake Oswego High School. She taught there for 18 years until her retirement in 2007.

Ms. Harvester was an inspiring teacher, and many say that, without a doubt her lasting legacy was the personal impact she had on her students.

“She was truly a unique individual,”said Lake Oswego High School science department head Steve Huss. “She was known by her students as not only a great teacher of chemistry, but a great teacher of life. Jennifer wasn’t afraid to bring her own personal stories and experiences into the classroom to teach kids not only about chemistry, but the lessons that we learn throughout our lives. She was known to her fellow staff members as a person with an amazing amount of passion and enthusiasm toward the education of our youth who wasn’t afraid to fight for the things she believed were important.”

Mike Shoff, an LOHS graduate who is now in his last year of dental school at UCLA, felt Ms. Harvester was an excellent teacher.

“She was my high school physics and chemistry teacher,” he said. “Like all good teachers, she was a master of what she taught. The unique thing about Ms. Harvester is that she somehow was able to get through to everyone. I didn’t fully appreciate how good of a teacher she was until I was breezing through the toughest college science courses based on fundamentals she had taught.”

He added that it was difficult to convey his thoughts about her in only a couple of sentences.

“She was truly a great person,” he added.

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