Harvey Dee Mecham

Harvey Dee Mecham


Old chemists never die they just change state. Harvey Dee Mecham changed state according to the First Law of Thermodynamics on October 8, 2020.
Harvey was born to Dee and Alta Baird Mecham on May 17, 1942 and was raised in Heber City, Utah. At a young age, he developed a strong work ethic, working alongside his dad and grandfather on the farm in Wallsburg, and at age 15 began a job at J.C. Penney. He also demonstrated a love of learning, studying electronics on his own and becoming a pilot.
In the fall of 1960, Harvey began school at the College of Southern Utah where he met his soulmate, Allie Muir. They were married on a snowy day in the St. George Temple, December 15, 1961.
Harvey’s top priority in life was always Allie and his children. He loved each of them deeply. Harvey and Allie treasure each of their six children and spouses, JanaLee Carter (Todd), Lisa Talbot (Bryan), Julie Taylor Coleman (Ronald), Meri Lopez, Steven Mecham (Meiga), and Jennie Johnstun (Derek). They adore their 22 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
Harvey’s graduate studies took him to Oakridge Tennessee and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and he earned a Ph.D. from Brigham Young University in 1972. He worked for the Utah Department of Health and later joined the faculty at Utah Valley University. He taught diverse science classes such as chemistry, microbiology, electronics and Nanotechnology and also taught a chemistry series that was aired on PBS television. He cared not so much about recognition and grades as about helping each student to understand difficult concepts and to handle their challenging life circumstances.
Harvey expressed his faith by the way he lived his life, by his example, and by the way he treated others. He worked as a temple ordinance worker in the Provo Temple for almost thirty years. Earlier, he served in the bishopric while also managing to work at the state health lab, commuting from Wallsburg to Salt Lake City, milk a herd of cows, design and build a house by hand, and care for Allie and his family.
Harvey valued the human mind and was interested in ideas and the unique thoughts of each person he knew. He was visionary, always thinking scientifically beyond the present horizon. He gently encouraged each person to get an education without imposing his own direction. He had a gift for reframing hard problems, both personal and technical, by suggesting new perspectives. He was honest, honorable, gentle, kind and generous. A Sunday dinner conversation with Harvey was never mundane and could range from the chemistry of the margarine, to the microscopic composition of the ketchup, to the personality of the roast beef and its fence-jumping history, to new ideas. Harvey’s tendency to make startling statements to get people thinking will be greatly missed.