George H. Harvey

Dr. George Hutchens Harvey, 90, of Norfolk, Virginia, and Montgomery Village, Maryland, peacefully passed into the arms of his Lord and Savior in the early hours of Monday, August 7, 2023. 

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 13, 1932, George was the son of John Wesley Harvey, Jr. and Pauline (nee Clay) Harvey. He graduated as valedictorian of Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia, in 1950 and earned a B.S. in wildlife management from Cornell University in 1954, where he was an NROTC scholarship recipient. It was at Cornell that he met the love of his life, Nancy Walldorff, through the ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Immediately following his graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy and married Nancy.

George served in the Navy from 1954 to 1958. He was stationed aboard the USS Marquette (AKA-95) from 1954-55 and the USS Westchester County (LST-1167) from 1955-56. He served with the 1st Air & Naval Gunfire Liaison Company from 1956-58. His service time included a posting in Hawaii and a deployment to Korea after the war. He left active duty as a Lieutenant (junior grade), having been awarded the Navy Occupation Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Korea Defense Service Medal.

Following his service in the Navy, George worked for the Virginia Fish and Game Commission for two years as a wildlife education specialist. He then attended Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University) in Columbia, South Carolina, where he obtained his M.A. in biblical education in 1964. After graduating, he served as a U.S. based missionary for 12 years with Christian Service Brigade, a ministry committed to discipling boys in the faith primarily through the father-son relationship. Eventually serving as CSB’s Southeastern Field Director, he traveled extensively across the southeast, helping to start Brigade groups in numerous churches.

George took great joy in helping others, and following his years with Brigade, felt called to pursue a career in Christian counseling. He received his M.Ed. in counseling from Georgia State University in 1976 and his Ph.D. in counseling, also from Georgia State, in 1984. In 1985, after almost a decade of counseling through several local churches, he established Covenant Counseling Services in Chesapeake, Virginia, along with two partners. There he helped countless individuals, couples, and families with the challenges they were facing for 30 more years until his retirement in 2015. He continued counseling on a very part time basis for two more years until he retired for good at age 85.

A lifelong sportsman and nature enthusiast, George relished being in the great outdoors enjoying God’s creation. He could identify just about any tree, fowl, or bird call and spent many happy days hunting, camping, fishing, canoeing, or hiking with those he loved. His other passion was running, a sport that took him from his high school and college track competitions all the way to his continued practice of jogging several times a week well into his mid-80’s. He loved to read, and a book or magazine was usually never far from his reach.

George’s personal relationship with God was paramount to him, however, and he devoted his life to serving Him. He was an elder, adult Sunday school teacher, and home group leader at the Virginia Beach Community Chapel and in his later years, at the Tabernacle Church of Norfolk. He served for a number of years as an adjunct professor of counseling at both Regent University and Faith Bible College and served on the board of Norfolk Christian Schools. He led many counseling workshops for pastors as well as various Christian marriage and parenting seminars locally and abroad via short-term missions trips. He also taught frequent “Great Dads” classes to soon-to-be-released inmates in the Norfolk jail who had never had a father figure/ example in their life.

George cherished his family and took immense pleasure in spending time with them and investing in them. A man of great godliness and humility, he loved others deeply and will be fondly remembered for the wisdom, encouragement, kindness, and warmth he generously shared with all who knew him. 

He wanted his obituary to read: “He saw himself as first, a committed follower of Christ, his Lord and Savior, and then as a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and counselor. The two most life-changing events of his life were accepting Christ as his personal Lord and Savior at age 18 and marrying Nancy at age 21. Both profoundly influenced his life and that of his family.”

George is survived by his beloved wife of 69 years, Nancy Walldorff Harvey; his son, Timothy Harvey and wife, Eugenia Harvey, of Montgomery Village, Maryland; his son, Daniel Harvey and wife, Peggy Harvey, of Hopkinton, Massachusetts; his daughter, Katharine Stomp and husband, William Stomp, Jr., of Pottstown, Pennsylvania; his son, David Harvey and wife, Tamara Harvey, of Plano, Texas; his sister, Mary Ellen Johnson, of Chesapeake, Virginia; his ten grandchildren, Jennifer Miranda, Stephen Harvey, David A. Harvey, William Stomp III, Brianna Stomp, Rachel Harvey, Katelyn Stomp, David S. Harvey, Alyssa Stomp, and Jack Harvey; and his four great-grandchildren, Matthew Harvey, Diego Miranda, Abigail Harvey, and Lucia Miranda. He was predeceased by his father, John Wesley Harvey, Jr., his mother, Pauline Clay Harvey, and his brother, John Clay Harvey.

A private viewing will be held for the family at Barber Funeral Home in Laytonsville, Maryland, followed by interment in Quantico National Cemetery in Quantico, Virginia. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 AM on Thursday, August 17, 2023 at the Tabernacle Church of Norfolk, 7000 Granby Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23505. A lunch reception will be served at the church immediately following the service. All are invited to attend both the service and the reception.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Tabernacle Church of Norfolk missions fund via http://www.tabchurch.org or to the Norfolk Union Mission at http://www.unionmissionministries.org.

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