Marvin Earl Harges

Marvin Earl Harges, 84, passed away on Wednesday, January 9 in Midland, TX.He was born on August 17, 1923 in Chicago, IL to Earl and Lilla Harges. He was raised and educated in Illinois along with his sister, Jeanne, before he joined the armed services in 1943. He served his country well in World War II in the Army and fought in the European Theatre from December 1943 to February 1945. It was during this time in Germany, he met his wife to be, Ann.After returning to the States from the war with an honorable discharge as a Technical Sergeant, he enrolled at the University of Chicago for his master's degree while waiting for his fiance to Immigrate to the US. He was married to Ann shortly after in 1947 and they remained in Chicago until Marvin finished his Master's Degree of Science in Paleontology.Ann and Marvin moved to Roswell, New Mexico in 1951. Marvin started a career in Geology working as an exploration geologist for Gulf Oil. They briefly lived in Fort Worth, Texas where their children, Patricia and Craig were born. In 1956, they relocated to Midland, Texas where they remained until his death.In the 1950s and 60s, he was a prolific painter, specializing in oils and was a member of the Midland Arts association.He also was an active member of the Sports Car Club of America in the 1960s where he served as President for the West Texas Chapter. Marvin was heavily involved with the Boy Scouts of America for 12 years. Where he served as an Assistant Scout Master for Troop 160.After his retirement from Gulf in 1982, Marvin remained busy as a manager of the Midland Energy Library and a volunteer for the Confederate Air Force and the Chevron Retirees Association. Following his retirement he became a member of the Greentree Country Club Tennis Association.While Marvin had been at Gulf Oil, he was involved in the planning stages of the building of The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. He continued to be very involved there in his retirement years as a member and in 2005 was awarded an Honorary Life Member of the Santa Rita Club.He loved being outdoors and was an avid tennis player and fly fisherman. He and his family spent many vacations traveling on the road in the western states of Colorado and Wyoming.He was a loving father and grandfather who loved sharing his hobbies with his family.Marvin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Ann Harges of Midland; daughter Patricia and husband Michael Henderson of Placitas, NM; son Craig Harges of Seattle, Washington; granddaughter Robin Henderson who lives in Chicago, IL with her fiance Brian Velo and Jeanne Ward and Family of Glenview, IL.Private family services will be held in Jackson, Wyoming at a later date.The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Midland Petroleum Museum.,