Michael Paul Harnett

Michael Paul Harnett, age 69, of Powell, Ohio passed away peacefully on Sunday March 5, 2023, of congestive heart failure at Riverside Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Shawn (Britt), daughter Kelly Harnett, and son Patrick Harnett. He is also survived by his stepson Jesse Britt of Hilliard, Ohio, stepdaughter Stacey (Steve) Svoboda and two wonderful grandsons, Owen Svoboda and Luke Svoboda. He is also survived by his biological Hart family, who when located in recent years, lovingly brought Mike and Shawn into their lives. He is predeceased in death by his father Richard Harnett and his mother Geneva Harnett. Mike was born in Middletown, Ohio on April 22, 1953, to Catherine Julia Hart, the mother who gave him life. He was adopted by Richard and Geneva Harnett, the parents who raised him as their only child in Dayton, Ohio. Mike graduated from Carroll High School in Dayton and attended college at Sinclair College, also in Dayton. Mike is a proud veteran of the Army where he served in Germany as an artillery surveyor. After the Vietnam war ended, he hoped to make a career in the Army, but the U.S. was reducing troops. His desire to be of service led him to the Dayton Ohio Fire Department where he served as a firefighter and EMT. As many firefighters do, Mike took on a second job as an insurance agent and eventually made his full-time career as a retirement planner, another profession that allowed him to help others. Mike’s desire for service led him in his last years of life to volunteer in the Veteran’s Program at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio where veterans visit hospitalized veterans, a role he truly loved. Mike loved Ohio State (OSU) football and parked cars before each home game for 23 years. He always said he loved it because every person was happy coming to the game (but he was long gone by the end of the game if OSU lost!). Most of all, Mike liked to make people laugh and smile, and so he created a bi-weekly email he sent to friends and others begging to be on his e-mail list called “Odds and Ends”. Mike just wanted to make people happy, and he must have, because he had a lot of good friends. He was a great father to his children Kelly and Pat, who will miss him dearly and carry an empty place in their hearts. Mike was the love of Shawn’s life, and she was the love of Mike’s life – a marriage cut too short by his passing. A Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 pm on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at RUTHERFORD FUNERAL HOME AT POWELL, 450 West Olentangy Street (Powell Road), Powell, Ohio. The Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 am Friday, March 10, 2023 with Visitation one hour prior to the Service at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 3924 Home Road, Powell, Ohio 43065 with burial with Military Honors to follow at Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. Mike loved dogs and supporting the military. In lieu of flowers, you many donate to Hobo’s Healing Heart www.hoboshealingheart.org a non-profit founded by his daughter providing financial aid for emergency veterinary care and cremation services for families with pets in need, or www.t2t.org a non-profit honoring first responders, veterans, and their families by giving mortgage free/accessible homes to widows/children and service people who have been severely injured serving our country. .

Michael Paul Harnett

April 22, 1953 - March 5, 2023