Tragic Death Ends Hike of Oldest Greylock Rambler
ADAMS, Mass. — The Greylock Ramble will have one less hiker at the summit this year. Thomas Harty, the oldest man to participate in the Ramble, was tragically murdered Thursday at the age of 94.
"I just remembered how much he loved doing the Ramble and thought this is going to be the first year he is not going to do it," Harty's son, Donald, of New Hampshire, said in a phone interview on Friday.
According to The Greenfield Recorder, an individual broke into the Franklin County home of Harty and his wife, Joanna Fisher, at some point overnight Wednesday. Harty was killed in the home invasion and his wife of more than 30 years has been hospitalized.
Harty, an avid hiker and mountain climber, had not missed the Greylock Ramble in years and had hiked to summit for almost 20 years. He would have turned 95 on Oct. 27. He was employed for decades at a local foundry and was still working for a family business, Donbeck Sales, in Orange.
For the past 15 years, the World War II Navy veteran had been celebrated as the oldest hiker to complete the 3.3-mile climb.
"He always liked getting to the top and signing in," Donald, one of Harty's four children, said. "Hikers always knew he would be there waiting to sign them in and he always had a group tagging along ... he would start a lot earlier because he was slower and when he neared the top, there would be a little parade behind him. He went up slowly but always got to the top."
Donald said his father loved hiking and being outdoors and started hiking Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire in 1927. Father and son hiked everywhere.
"I don't know why I like hiking, or why I like the places I've hiked," Tom Harty told The Recorder in 2015. "I just do."
Thomas Harty finished the Appalachian Trail at age 75, hiked up Mount Katahdin at 88, and started leading treks down the Grand Canyon 30 years ago.
"He started by himself and then pretty quickly he picked up a group of 20 to 30 people that would go with him," Donald said. "I think he actually hiked to the button and stayed there over 30 times. He liked being with people and showing them different parts of the country."
Donald said his father, who was from Orange, had some hiking friends in the Berkshires and the surrounding area and after one Ramble, he was hooked.
Although his father was not sure if he was going to attend the Ramble this year, he had every intention to keep up the tradition.
"He was still up in the air about it this year," Donald said. "He thought he might take the year off and get in better shape then come back with a vengeance next year."
Donald said his father was part of the Greylock Ramble's history and he will be missed.
"I think people are going to miss him up there this year," he said. "This great tradition has come to an end too early."
Update: Two suspects in Harty's death were arrested in Virginia and will be charged with murder.
Tags: hiking, Mount Greylock,
