Harry Edwin Schoepf, 81, of Ocala, Florida passed away peacefully on Friday, May 26, 2023 at the E. W. & Lucille Cates Hospice House in Ocala, Florida. Harry was born on June 4, 1941 in Manchester, New Hampshire the son of the late Walter and Edna (Schloth) Schoepf.
Harry grew up in the town of Bedford, N. H., where he attended elementary schools and then graduated from Manchester West High School in 1959. Beginning in high school and over the period of 1957 – 1962 he entered the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild Model Car Competition winning at state and regional levels six times. In 1961 his model won a styling scholarship award for excellence in design. He used this scholarship to attend the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles in the industrial design program, majoring in transportation design. Years later this model was donated to the Smithsonian Museum for a special exhibition. After his junior year he applied for a summer position at Caterpillar Tractor Company which led to his first job after graduation working in design research and product development at Caterpillar. Harry served in the Air Force from 1967 – 1969 stationed in Plattsburgh, N. Y. where he was a drafting/charting draftsman for tankers and B52 bombers. After his discharge from service, he had several jobs in industrial design including Royston Company, Hasbro Toy Company, and Raytheon Corporation. While with Raytheon he worked in the Middle East Systems Division in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he worked on a special design project for Prince Khalid Bin Sultan of the Saudi royal family. After returning to the States he taught on the faculty at Bridgeport College in Bridgeport, Connecticut as an instructor in design engineering.
Harry was an explorer. He traveled throughout the world including Europe, Australia and New Zealand. After working for Raytheon in Saudi Arabia, Harry traveled eastward back to the US stopping in such locations as Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bali in Indonesia, and finally the Hawaiian Islands.
Harry’s passion has been antique cars since 1966 when he started to refurbish a 1926 Ford touring car given to him by his uncle. This was followed by restoration projects on a 1923 TT C cab and a 1921 roadster. In 1990 he began to write a book about the 1926 Ford touring car which became a how-to book about a ¼ scale model of a 1913 Model T delivery truck. He designed and machined all the pieces to scale in his own hobby machine shop.
Harry is survived by his brother David Schoepf and his wife Judith Harris of Lewisburg, PA, a niece El Schoepf and her partner Robin McGinness, a nephew Jon Schoepf and his wife Isis Montes De Oca, sister-in-law Virginia Schoepf of Tucson, AZ and several cousins. He was preceded in death by his older brother Richard W. Schoepf.
A graveside service with full military honors will be held at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to honor Harry’s memory may be made to Hospice of Marion County,directed to the E. W. & Lucille Cates House. Contributions may also be made to the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard.