Obituary of Claire J. Harmon

Claire J. (Nolan) Harmon, 84, of Lawrenceville, NJ, died peacefully on Saturday December 9, 2023, at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, surrounded by the presence and love of her family. Born in Newark, NJ, she has been a resident of Lawrenceville since 1999. Claire was a travel agent with Kriegner Travel of Pennington, and American Express of Princeton for 25 years retiring in 2001. In retirement, she volunteered at the Pennington Library. Daughter of the late James and Viola (Laczny) Nolan, she is survived by her husband Martin C. Harmon, Jr.; her son, Martin C. Harmon, III and his wife Debra; and her three daughters, MaryJo Nagy and her husband Charles, Kelly Harmon, Debbie Theiler and her husband Richard; and her grandchildren Erica Nagy-Rayder and her husband Gerard, Charles Nagy, Kyleigh Harmon, Tierney Harmon, Theodore Schmitt, William Schmitt, Nolan Theiler and Grace Theiler; and her great-granddaughter Shannon Claire Rayder and Claire’s sister Elaine McGuire. Claire was a world traveler. She had an incredible curiosity and wanderlust that took her to Japan, China, Peru, the Galapagos Islands, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Italy, France, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, and throughout the East and West coasts of the USA. She planned the most amazing trips for herself and others. Incredibly generous, she took her entire extended family on multiple vacations to wonderful resorts in Mexico. Motherhood was an incredibly important part of Claire’s life. She fiercely loved her children and gave much of her time and energy to raising them and supporting all their endeavors. Many hours were spent at swim meets, tennis matches, gymnastic meets, field hockey and lacrosse games and school events. Claire loved hosting. Whether it was bridge club, gourmet dinners with friends, holiday parties with her sister, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren, sleepovers for her kids and their friends, everyone was always welcome. Delicious foods, cocktails, great conversations, and singing and dancing included. Claire was a lover of dogs and treated them as part of the family. She fed the birds, ducks, and squirrels – lots of feeders for her viewing pleasure. She loved the beach deeply. As an avid reader, she devoured multiple books a week. And loved discussing them and making recommendations to others. She was an enthusiastic movie-goer and watcher. Claire was passionate about art and photography, taking amazing pictures and sharing her love of this with her grandchildren. Claire was a great wife, sister, mother, aunt, and friend. She will be dearly missed. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday at 11 AM at the Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Burial will be private and there will be no visitation prior to the mass. To leave a condolence for the family or for directions please visit www.poulsonvanhise.com In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to Safe Pet Rescue (family volunteers there), Certified 501(c) 3 not-for-profit; donate https://safe-pet-rescue-fl.com/donate/