Retirement unlikely to slow Judge Harmon down

Nov. 23—The Grand Canyon remains a bucket list destination wish as do other regions of the United States he's yet to visit, Johnson County Judge Roger Harmon said. With retirement in sight — Harmon officially steps down on Dec. 31 having served 28 years as county judge — travel opportunities should be ample.

Be it travel or other post-retirement activities, Martha Harmon said she foresees no grass growing under her husband's feet.

"Roger will not be still, that I know," Martha Harmon said. "He's the busiest man I know, always has a project going on. He kept his insurance license all these years so he may get back into some of that and I know he's hoping to find more ministries to get involved with at church to give back that way now that he'll have more time. It's early yet and I think he's just waiting to see what God has for him next."

Harmon agreed with his wife.

"I'm certainly not going to just sit down," Harmon said. "God has blessed me with good health and I want to stay involved and still do my part in helping make good things happen for people."

Harmon's attitude of civic minded outlook and public service past and yet to come played into the decision to peg him as the Times-Review's 2022 Man of the Year.

Although Harmon has several places yet to visit, he considers himself blessed to have traveled extensively throughout the world thanks in part to his earlier career as an insurance agency owner.

"I think that, having had the opportunities to see different places, helped later in life when I had to deal with a spectrum of issues first on the Cleburne school board then as county judge," Harmon said. "I've tried to use those experiences as a springboard to making good decisions."

Globetrotting was out of the question early on, Harmon said as he recalled his childhood home on the corner of James and Washington streets.

"We were dirt poor," Harmon said. "My grandmother, Susie, she was special in my life. The rooms in our house were so small that I slept in a room with her when I was a little bitty kid. Later I shared a room with my brother that was so small that we had a single bed on one side and another on the other with barely enough room to walk between the two."

Harmon recalled searching out scrap iron and Coke bottles to scratch up enough money to catch a movie at the Yale or Esquire theater but also times of family togetherness, basically living on his bicycle and swimming in the Hulen Park pool.

"Spent a lot of hours at that pool, all of us guys did," Harmon said. "Well, that's where all the girls were."

Living meagerly, but happy, Harmon said.

"Good times," Harmon said. "I was very fortunate to grow up with a fine mother and daddy, because not everyone has that opportunity."

A World War II Army veteran, Harmon's father came to Cleburne in 1944.

"Where the conference center is now was a German POW camp and dad was a guard there during the war," Harmon said. "My dad used to tell me there were two groups of Germans. The Gestapo, they were still loyal to Hitler. The rest were regular German army. All they wanted was for the war to be over so they could get back to their families. But my dad said they had to keep the two groups separated. The regular German army guys, if they could've gotten to the Gestapo guys, they would've killed them. They hated them."

Harmon's mother and father met the same year his father arrived in Cleburne and wed soon after, Harmon's older sibling being a stepbrother from his mother's earlier marriage.

Noting that his mother, out of necessity, could stretch a dollar farther than anyone, Harmon joked of his reputation among some as being a tight-fisted county judge.

"The majority of people just had to work hard for a living back then," Harmon said. "I think of that sometimes. I've been known as the county judge kind of a tight wad on spending taxpayer's money. That's an honor. You have to spend money to provide the services needed, but you have to spend it wisely. I think my background, the way I grew up, taught me to be a true conservative."

Harmon, who first ran in 1994, did so as a Democrat his first two terms.

"Everyone did back then," Harmon said. "I've always believed in the two-party system. When one party started going too far the other would pull them back. Now, unfortunately, it's just a big division. That's not good for the people.

"I have friends who are Republicans and friends who are Democrats, but I'm strongly Republican because I believe in the values the Republican Party holds over those the Democratic Party holds. But both parties have pulled out and the give and take has been forgotten and it's hard to close that gap. I don't know the answer to that other than we need to work together."

After graduating Cleburne High School in 1965, Harmon attended Hill College and went on to work at Gibson's Department Store, General Dynamics and eventually started his own insurance agency, which his son, Greg Harmon, continues to run.

Harmon credits his strong faith to his grandmother.

"Out of high school there was a timeframe I didn't go to church much," Harmon said. "But when I got married, Martha and I started going on a regular basis. Our relationship with the Lord has helped certainly in our marriage and lives."

Harmon stresses as well the importance of relationships and friends.

"Friends help you get through life," Harmon said. "If you make good friends your path is pretty clear. If you don't make good friends, you get roadblocks."

Referring to it as public service rather than politics, Harmon said his father likely inspired his decision to enter the public arena.

Harmon's father worked in the Johnson County Tax Office in the Johnson County Courthouse, where Harmon now works, and served 10 years on the Cleburne City Council.

"Dad was on the council when they had the bond issue to build Lake Pat Cleburne and supported that because he saw the need for water," Harmon said. "But a lot of people were upset about building a lake out there, calling the house saying, 'That land won't even hold water,' and things like that, But, can you imagine Cleburne today without that lake?"

Harmon served first on the school board and then as county judge.

"I believe God has a plan for everybody and for me that was a desire to serve people," Harmon said. "That's something he instilled in me and something I've always enjoyed doing."

But, no man is an island, Harmon added, as he went on to praise the advice and friendship of Senior District Judge C.C. "Kit" Cooke, former Commissioner R.C. McFall, Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore, the current court and many others for the county's success.

"I was blessed to have Sandy Sims as my former assistant,' Harmon said. "She had worked for [former County Judge Joe Durham] and had a lot of insight and I depended on her a whole lot early on."

Sims, whose parents also worked for the county when she was young, joked that she and Harmon used to run around the courthouse as kids totally unaware that both of them would later work there.

"There's a lot to be said of Judge Harmon," Sims said. "He's quite a Christian man, always thinking of other people and being kind and considerate of their points and views.

"He always came to work with a smile on his face, a good morning and a positive attitude. That meant a lot to employees."

Of accomplishments realized during his time on the court, Harmon name checks the long, finally successful attempts to build the Chisholm Trail toll road, renovation of the Guinn Justice Center and Johnson County Courthouse, strengthening of county finances while maintaining low tax rates and moves to improve public safety among other positive steps. Not to mention his, and fellow commissioners', roles in regional and state boards and organizations ensuring Johnson County's voice in state legislative concerns.

"What I'll miss is 28 years institutional knowledge Judge Harmon brings to the table," Commissioner Larry Woolley said. "When I moved here 40 years ago they were talking about the toll road and I know Judge Harmon and Commissioner McFall were both very diligent in working for that, and that's certainly proved a home run for Johnson County.

"But Roger brought a lot of experience and historical information that was very beneficial and will certainly be missed."

Commissioner Rick Bailey agreed.

"I know retirement is bittersweet for him and it's been an emotional time to give up something he loves," Bailey said. "But he's made a difference. When Roger came on there wasn't a lot of money or industry and we still had gravel roads in parts of the county. As time went on and through the court working together, our tax base got built up and a lot of things got done while we managed to keep a low tax rate compared to other counties. A lot of that goes to Judge Harmon and his leadership over 28 years."