Melvin Harmless

Lawrence "Melvin" Harmless, 73, of Rockville, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014.

He was born Nov. 18, 1940 in Parke County, the son of Harris Melvin Harmless and Eileen DePlanty Harmless Shinn.

A 1958 graduate of Rockville High School, Melvin was raised and spent his early adulthood working on the family farm with his father and grandfather in the New Discovery neighborhood.

After leaving the farm, Melvin was employed by Custom Farm Services, where he became involved with the evaluation of farm crop nutrient response and uptake. In 1973 to 1983, he returned to the farm to co-manage Harmless Farms and had his own agronomy consulting company.

He also worked at the WAXI radio station in Rockville as a morning DJ. After 1983, Melvin became an agronomist and crop troubleshooter with Garst/Syngenta Seed Company in Des Moines, Iowa. Upon his retirement, Melvin and his wife returned to Indiana to be closer to their families.

Known as the "Lawn Ranger" in Iowa, Mel took pride in how nice his yard looked and was always working or puttering in the yard. Mel always said he was in charge of the seeds and weeds and God's in charge of the flowers and trees.

Melvin is survived by his wife Olive; children Terri L. Magtoto, Bradley Coleman, Lawrence Randell "Randy" Harmless (Brenda) and Kimberlee Harmless Wade; stepchildren Laura Bowen and Dale "Rusty" Calvert; grandchildren Christianna Griffin, James Magtoto, Mariah Magtoto, Andrew Harmless, Adam Harmless, Jacob Wade, Tiffany Corser, Landon Schick, Leah Schick, D.J. Leitner and Charles "Bronson" Calvert; eight great-grandchildren; and siblings Roseanna Spencer and Malcolm Harmless.

No public viewing will occur. A celebration of life is planned at a later date.