Deceased March 23, 2016
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In Memory
Harry Ahlheim died in March, a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. Harry was 88. He lived in Palm City, Fla., with his wife, Marge, for several years before his death.
Harry came to Amherst in 1947 as one of a threesome from Glen Ridge, N.J. The others were the late Gus Bourne and Diz Evans; all three were Chi Phi.
Following Amherst he joined Time Inc., where he spent his career, retiring in 1985 as advertising sales manager for Sports Illustrated.
While working in New York, Harry lived in Glen Ridge in the same house from which he came to Amherst. Upon retirement he moved to Chatham, Mass. (where he had summered for years). He and Marge lived there until 2011, when they moved to Palm City.
Harry was an avid golfer and an excellent sailor. I first met him in the fall of our freshman year when we were members of a four-man freshman team sailing in a regatta at Brown. (He did much better than I did.) Some years later, shortly after Harry and Marge were married, I met them in the middle of Buzzards Bay, where they were returning from a cruise to Cape Cod in their small, comfortable cruising sloop.
Harry loved Amherst and was bitterly disappointed that a badly broken arm prevented his returning for our 60th reunion in 2011. When I last talked to him two or three months before he died, he talked of his coming to our 65th reunion last spring and showed no sign of his disease.
Harry is survived by his wife, Marge; their daughter, Joan Ahlheim; and several grandchildren (descendants of his late daughter, Nancy Ahlheim Sauter, whom he loved deeply).
Harry was a boon companion, ever full of life and high spirits. We shall miss him.
Van Tingley ’51