This week’s Rotarian story is about a retired CPA who has been married for 46 years to his wife Melanie, an interior designer. They have one daughter, Lesley, an attorney in Spokane, and a new 5-month-old granddaughter, Nora. Lesley is married to Adam Gangelhoff, a middle school teacher at Shaw.
He and his wife like to travel, go to Coeur d’Alene Lake in the summer, and babysit their new granddaughter. He also likes to play golf and stay active by playing music.
His favorite author is Alistair MacLean who has written such books as The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. His favorite movie is The Sting and his favorite album is The New Glenn Miller Band followed closely by Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
His most worthwhile investments are dedicating time and effort early in life to learning how to play the drums and the piano, and attending every activity, performance, and meeting his daughter was involved in while she was growing up.
One of the most special events in his life was being in an April 1953 Life magazine article as part of a feature story the magazine published about a musical kindergarten in Spokane, Washington.
He was born and raised on Spokane’s South Hill attending Wilson elementary, Sacajawea junior high, and Lewis & Clark high school. Throughout his K through 12 years, he played percussion instruments in the school bands and orchestras and was also active as a drummer in a rock and roll band in high school and college.
He attended the University of Idaho for his undergraduate degree where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity; he goes on to say that his closest friends in life today are guys he met at the fraternity. He attended graduate school at the University of Washington where he obtained his DDS degree.
Our Rotarian served 2 years of active duty in the US Navy as a dentist in Okinawa, Japan, and San Diego, California. After his military service, he practiced dentistry in Spokane and Hayden Lake before deciding to retire from dentistry and become an accountant. He worked as a CPA at LeMaster & Daniels, now known as CLA, for 33 years, 12 years as managing partner of the Spokane office, and retired in 2015.
He has served on the boards of the Spokane Sports Commission and Spokane Area Children’s Chorus and is a past president and trustee of Wampum, a former nonprofit organization that raised money for the arts.
He joined Rotary Club 21 at his father’s urging and became a third-generation member of this club. He enjoys fellowship with other members and giving back to the community through our club’s various committees.
Please say hello to Harley Reckord
