Harvey Cleveland White III

Harvey (Sonny) Cleveland White III, 89, went to his Heavenly Home on October 26, 2026 after a brief illness. He was born in Brady Lake and moved to Kent at 11 years old and remained until his passing.

Harvey was the loving husband to Carol for 68 years, beloved father to DeAnna Tenney (2016) and Dawn (Terry) Sharnsky. He was Poppy to grandchildren Melissa (Johnny) Zverloff, Megan (Bobby) Haas, Cody Moore and Nathan (Alexa) Sharnsky. He was Poppy to great grandchildren Harvey and Wyatt Zverloff and Jaime, Hayley and Caidence Haas and poppy power nap companion to pup Zoe.

Harvey was a gentle, stubborn, witty, generous and hardworking man of faith who cared deeply about his family and serving others. He had an engineering mind and could fix anything.

Throughout his life, Harvey was industrious and did many things. He became a draftsman for Davey Compressor while still in High School. He built his own rig and drilled water wells for many years. Harvey bought a backhoe and used it to install garage lifts and countless other things and was maintenance supervisor for Pultrusion and Kent Industries. He finished his career self-employed at his companies, Kent Welding and Kent Custom Machine where he built machinery for the plastics industry and designed and built a tire inflation machine which he sold to companies across the country.

Harvey and Carol vacationed for 20+ years in Florida before buying their own home on a canal where he enjoyed boating and being active in the homeowner’s association. He led a weekly neighborhood cleanup crew and forged many friendships. You could often find him sitting in the garage watching the world go ready to shoot the breeze. He loved Tuesday morning Men’s breakfasts in Ohio and Florida where you could find him eating eggs benedict or pancakes and eggs.

Harvey found honor in serving others. He served as trustee for First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Kent overseeing countless projects and traveled to Homestead, FL to help hurricane victims. He spent many years as Project Coordinator for Portage County Habitat for Humanity and was awarded Volunteer of the Year in 1995. If Harvey called on you, it was hard to say no, but he was also the first to lend his hand when needed.

Harvey’s love and light will forever be seen in all the things his brilliant hands touched. The entire family is grateful for the support of family and friends over the past few weeks from visits to food to hugs and countless check-ins.

Harvey was preceded in death by his daughter Deanna who we are sure welcomed him into his Heavenly Home; parents, Harvey Sr. and Candace (Sis) White, Glenn Brown; Father and Mother-in-Law Chauncey Sr. and Dorothy Gardner, Mary Gardner and brother-in-law, Chauncey Gardner Jr.

Friends will be received on Saturday November 7, 2026 at First Christian Church Disciples of Christ, 335 W. Main Street, Kent from 2:00-4:00 p.m. A Memory of Life Service will immediately follow. Cremation has taken place.

Services in the care of Bissler & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory, 628 W. Main St. Kent, OH 44240.