Anonymous
Harry Baker Arthur III, 69, died on October 25, 2017, as he had lived, charging forward in his life and preparing for his next adventure, a sailing trip from Panama to Santa Barbara. Harry was a proud California native, born in Oakland in 1947. As the son of a Navy officer, his family moved around the globe, from Brooklyn to Honolulu to Guam.
After graduating from high school, he served a two-year enlistment as an Army medical technician in Bangkok, Thailand. After his honorable discharge, Harry returned to the US and worked many jobs, including merchant seaman, onboard service director for Auto Train, motorcycle courier, ER technician at George Washington University Hospital, and as a roving office machine repairman for IBM. He eventually returned to his beloved California, living for several years in the Marina Del Rey area and honing his skills as a marine mechanic and electrician. In 1989, Harry moved north to Santa Barbara, and established himself as a successful marine services contractor.
Harry and his iconic VW camper ranged all over the West Coast. Harry preferred to move through life with few physical possessions. Rather, he had deep social roots and was an exceptionally loyal friend, beloved by all who knew him in the Santa Barbara yachting community. His home, in a sense, was the sea, and he loved nothing in life more than making a long blue-water passage on a sailing yacht. A “shellback” who crossed the Atlantic and Pacific multiple times, he visited ports all over the world.
Harry was never a distant friend: Harry looked after you. He kept in touch, sent you pictures and cards, made sure you knew you were important in his life. A beer with him at the Brewhouse was time well spent. Everyone must die, but the loss of this man’s great heart and friendship seems exceptionally cruel.
He is survived by his daughter Stella DeMont of Los Angeles and his brothers Arch Arthur of Maylene, Alabama and George Arthur of Arlington, Virginia. Scattering of his ashes and a private remembrance ceremony will take place on January eleventh.
