# RIP, Harry Donovan



## derekleffew (Sep 25, 2009)

Story here: In Memoriam: Harry Donovan, 1943-2009 - PLSN.


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## ruinexplorer (Sep 25, 2009)

Thank you Harry for your innovations in rigging. You will be missed.


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## gafftaper (Sep 28, 2009)

Memorial thoughts from Uncle Bill:

> [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Harry Donovan passed away last Wednesday night after a prolonged illness.
> 
> I first met Harry when we worked together helping to put together the rigging certification exams for the ETCP. I also had the opportunity to teach with him in Atlanta. It turned out to be one of his last teaching engagements.
> 
> ...


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## FMEng (Oct 11, 2009)

Harry will be missed. I had the pleasure of working with him just once. Several years ago, I had new speakers to safely hang in a church with a high ceiling, and the building contractor needed it done ASAP. He didn't mind doing a very small job, and handled it professionally with a fine crew. As we were in the attic, he admired the building's structural framework, and described how it worked. Truly an engineer, not just a rigger. 

I believe Harry was a Licensed, Professional Engineer in the State of Washington. If he didn't have a degree, he still had the engineering and math skills to take the exam and earn a PE stamp. That is one of the things that made Harry different and a leader. He realized that good engineering needed to be applied to rigging in order to do it safely and efficiently. Prior to him, a lot of it was based on just luck, gut instinct, and brute force.


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