Harvey Donald Nimmerichter, Jr.

Harvey Donald Nimmerichter, Jr., age 67, of Middletown, DE, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family on Friday, April 19, 2024 after a two-year battle with stage iv esophageal cancer. Harvey battled his cancer quietly and bravely, dedicating his energy into his wife’s simultaneous cancer battle. After Harvey’s wife passed 6 weeks ago, his purpose in life was taken from him and his heart was broken. When Harvey finally decided his fight was over, he made his peace with his children, siblings and God and then his strong will guided him to heaven to go be with his beloved wife of 44 years, Connie.  His family was in awe of his strength and courage to admit that he did not want to be without her, and how he made it happen.

Born in Pottstown, PA on July 4, 1956, he was a son of the late Harvey Donald and Anna (Peto) Nimmerichter, Sr. Harvey was a graduate of Northern Chester County Technical School.  He loved his July 4th holiday birthday, convincing his young children that the fireworks were shot off to celebrate him at a young age.  His siblings affectionately nicknamed him Boom as a nod to the firework noise made on his birthday.  Following graduation, he worked for several agencies, specializing in automobile repair, hydraulic bucket trucks in particular.  Growing up, Harvey had a passion and talent for anything with a motor.  His favorite room in any house was the garage.  He dedicated his entire career to his automotive pursuits, working for Delmarva Power for 35 years, most recently as a Regional Fleet Manager.

Harvey was well known for his craftsmanship and wide-ranging skills to fix or build anything. He was a quick study and could immediately grasp new technical skills to build furniture, complete electrical work or really any home repair from reading or watching YouTube videos. In his loving way, he was a constant protector for his children and fixed their every mechanical issue. Anything he constructed, he made sure to enforce with the strength of a battleship. His MacGyver-like unconventional problem solving led to inventions like upgrading ordinary water coolers to a 5-gallon water cooler mounted on a steel hand truck, with off roading wheels, a custom cup holder, with a fold out extender with the option for an igloo cooler to store ice for any injury and plenty of oranges for halftime at his children’s sporting games.  And of course, it was spray painted to match the color of their uniforms at the request of his wife Connie. He was a smart man that knew he needed to know his wife’s specification requests before any build.

Harvey was a supportive father of his three children, Samantha, Matthew, and Jessica.  He dedicated many hours to supporting their hobbies, education, and happiness. Even with no prior knowledge of soccer, Harvey was volunteered by his wife Connie to be the head coach of Matthew’s soccer team although all he knew about the game was that you couldn’t use your hands. True to form, Harvey learned all he could, and coached all 3 of his kids through their childhood. He could be found on the sideline with his signature mustache and aviator style sunglasses. He passed on his competitive nature and good work ethic to his children and gave them the life skills to all have amazing careers.

Aside from his children, Harvey’s other pride and joy were his hobby vehicles.  He spent 20 years restoring a 1967 Chevy Nova, owned numerous Harley Davidson motorcycles, and was an avid Jeep Wrangler owner.  Harvey fell in love with Jeeps when his daughter wanted one at sixteen.  As with anything, Harvey went whole heartedly into the lifestyle, with both him and his wife Connie driving them for years. He was also an avid fisherman, taking his Jeeps surf fishing often.  While he loved casting a line on the beach, he explained to his children that all the best surf fishing happened when the fish didn’t bother you so you could nap or enjoy a good beer. Despite his old age making it not a requirement, he purchased his fishing license every year as a donation to Fish and Wildlife. When he was younger, he spent many hours fishing off of his boat and taking trips to New York State for salmon fishing season. Most recently, he enjoyed teaching his grandson to fish out of the front yard of his beach house near Bethany Beach.

Giving back and taking care of people was very important to him, but he often did it with silent gestures. Harvey was a proud grandfather and leaves behind a six year old grandson, Declan.  Just as he did with his kids, he never missed a baseball game, birthday party, soccer game, and adored playing catch with Declan.  His favorite hobby was doting upon his grandson.

In addition to his parents, Harvey was preceded in death by his wife, Connie Lynn (Moyer) Nimmerichter. He is survived by his children, Samantha J. Nimmerichter, Matthew C. Nimmerichter (Nora), and Jessica M. McIntire (Shaun); grandson, Declan P. Nimmerichter; siblings, Ann Vath (Rick), Patricia Anderson (Neil), Theresa Golden (Rich), Rosemary Wright (Frank), and Joseph Nimmerichter; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held to honor Harvey at noon on July 14^th, 2024 at the Chesapeake Inn Ballroom at 605 Second Street, Chesapeake City, MD 21915. Please RSVP to Samantha Nimmerichter at [email protected]. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Harvey’s memory to the Helen Graham Cancer Center, Christiana Care Office of Philanthropy, 4000 Nexus Drive, Suite W3-300, Wilmington, DE 19803 or online by clicking here.