Harry Vester Boone Jr., a longtime resident of Statesville, N.C., passed away peacefully in his home on Saturday, October 11, 2025. Just a month and a half earlier, he had celebrated his 100th birthday at a gala party at his local YMCA.
“Vester” – as he was known to nearly everyone – was born on August 21, 1925 in Rocky Mount, Va., to Harry Vester Boone Sr., a rural mail carrier and automobile mechanic, and Vassie (Greer) Boone, a homemaker. He was the oldest of four children (Andrew, Mary Ann, and Doris), all now deceased. As a child of the Depression, hard work and discipline were instilled in Vester at a young age and became a “playbook” for the entirety of his long life. This foundation of inner strength was reinforced by a traumatic event in his early childhood — being struck by a vehicle and overcoming near-death while lying in traction for months. Vester emerged from this life-changing experience as the epitome of tenacity. In high school he was a starting basketball player and excellent student, graduating two years early. He enrolled at National Business College in Roanoke, Va., in the fall of 1942, but left school in March of 1943 at the age of 17 to enlist in the U.S. Army. During his training, he was identified as Army Air Corps “officer material.” He completed Officer Candidate School, qualified as a B-24 navigator, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in June of 1945. His active duty ended in December 1945 after two years and seven months of service.
When Vester resumed his studies at National Business College, he eyed a particular co-ed, Clarma Judith Allen. In a letter Vester wrote, “I am going to marry that girl,” and he did just that on October 25, 1947. Their 67-year marriage (ending with Clarma’s death in October of 2014) produced five sons, David Andrew Boone (deceased in 2014), Joseph Allen Boone of Los Angeles, Harry Walton Boone of Atlanta, John Dayton Boone of Reno and Benjamin Vester Boone of Fresno.
In 1958, Vester and Clarma moved from Virginia to Statesville, which served as a central base for his work territory as a representative for Frankin International of Columbus, Ohio. Over the subsequent years, he introduced Franklin’s revolutionary product, Titebond Glue, the first viable synthetic wood adhesive, to furniture manufacturers across the Southeast, earning him the moniker, “Mr. Glue.” Vester particularly loved the relationship-building and troubleshooting aspects of his work and continued in an active capacity with Franklin well into his 90s.
Vester was a committed community steward. He served as a deacon at First Baptist Church, where he and Clarma team-taught children’s Sunday school classes for decades; helped coach the swimming team at West Iredell High School; and visited a series of confined disabled friends on an ongoing basis. He served on the Statesville School Board 1974-1986 and was its chair from 1982-1986. Brenda Jolly, one of Statesville High School’s finest English teachers, noted “how good things were when he was on the school board.” Voracious readers, Vester and Clarma regarded education as paramount to happiness and success at all stages of life. This emphasis no doubt contributed to four of their sons becoming university professors.
In the mid-1960s, Vester renewed his interest in flying, earning a private pilot license. Flying began as a hobby, but it also allowed Vester to visit and service his more distant clients efficiently. His love for being airborne took a new turn when he celebrated his 80th birthday with his first skydiving experience.
Vester was always athletic and loved competing in sports, but work and family got in the way of regular exercise until 1965, when he was notified that his father was about to die and ran up several flights of hospital stairs hoping to arrive before it was too late. As Vester watched his father pass away, his own heart began to beat painfully, and at that defining moment he pledged himself to fitness. At the age of 40, he began a regimen of of daily running – culminating in the completion of a marathon – until back injuries forced him to quit in the 1980s. He quickly transitioned to bicycling and then to lap swimming, and, in the pool, he found the perfect outlet for his competitive nature, winning hundreds of ribbons, including many firsts and state records, in regional, national, and international Masters swimming meets. Through swimming, Vester became a much beloved fixture at the Statesville Family YMCA, his “second home.” Even after he stopped swimming in his 90s due to shoulder problems, Vester went to the “Y” nearly every day to work out and socialize. At his 100th birthday party, attendees were impressed that he continued to be robust and “sharp as a tack.”
In addition to his many friends and admirers, Vester leaves behind his four surviving sons and their spouses/partners, Mary Suzanne (Zan) Schuweiler (Harry), Elizabeth Joan (Betsy) Saul of Chapel Hill (John), and Alice Louise Daniel (Benjamin); and three grandsons of whom he was enormously proud, Hans Walton (Walt) Boone of Atlanta, and Atticus Daniel Boone and Noah Asher Daniel Boone of Los Angeles. Vester was also thrilled to welcome into his family a step-granddaughter, Zoe Daab of Inman, S.C., and a foster granddaughter, Yoselin Bruno Arreguin of Chapel Hill, who served as his primary caregiver, assistant, and companion during his final months.
Vester leaves us with the memory of his ready smile, his positive attitude, his unwavering belief in “doing the right thing,” his inquisitive mind, and his encouraging and accepting nature. Vester, by means of his example, was fundamentally a teacher. He mentored people in the art of living and in the end, he showed them how to die. Among his last spoken words were these, “I am nothing but grateful.”
A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church in Statesville, N.C., on November 9, 2025, at 2.30 p.m. with a reception to follow in in Adams Hall at 3.30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Vester’s name to the Statesville Family YMCA (828 Wesley Drive, Statesville NC 28677), Hospice and Palliative Care of Iredell County (2347 Simonton Road, Statesville NC 28625), or Benevolence Farm (www.benevolencefarm.org).
Condolences may be shared with the family online at www.bunchjohnsonfuneralhome.com by selecting Vester’s obituary and following the appropriate link to share a message.
Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home of Statesville is honored to be entrusted with the care of Mr. Boone and his family.