Frank Martin Harmon

The author of six non-fiction books, Martin Harmon, passed away on November 18, 2025, at his home in Senoia, Georgia, after a lengthy battle with two types of cancer. A veteran writer with extensive experience in newspapers, collegiate sports communications, and public relations/marketing, he was 73 years old and preceded in death by his father, Rev. Frank M. Harmon, and mother, Evelyne R. Harmon. He is survived by his wonderful wife of 54 years, Sharon Woody Harmon, and a great family: two sons, Matthew Martin (Danielle) and Andrew Phillip (Jeannine) Harmon; four grandchildren, Bailee (Camden) Busby, Joshua, Ethan, and Lucas Harmon; and a younger brother, Dr. Harold R. Harmon. A graduate of Motlow State Community College and East Tennessee State University, Harmon began his sports writing career at two daily Tennessee newspapers, the Johnson City Press-Chronicle and the Nashville Banner. He then moved into collegiate sports information at three mid-major, Southern universities, Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., and lastly Georgia State University in Atlanta, where he served as a Venue Press Chief during the 1996 Summer Olympics and was instrumental in the recruitment of Hall of Fame Basketball Coach "Lefty" Driesell to head the Panther program. Next, he transferred his love of American History to the Public Relations Director's job at Georgia's Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, the world-famous polio rehab center created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1927, where Harmon won 16 state and/or national awards for marketing, publications, fund raising, and tourism before retiring in 2012 to devote full time to his six non-fiction books. These include in published order, The Warm Springs Story: Legacy & Legend; Charles "Lefty" Driesell, A Basketball Legend; The Roosevelts and Their Descendants: Portrait of a Great American Family; Long Haul Legacy: SMC3 and The Evolution of Motor Freight; Presidents by Fate: Nine Who Ascended through Death or Resignation; and Presidents Versus Senators: Conflicts and Rivalries That Shaped America. Born in Maryville, Tennessee, Harmon spent most of his childhood years in that state, but also his junior high and early high school years in Denton, Texas, before his family moved back to Tennessee (Manchester), where he graduated from high school and met his future wife, Sharon. His professional life also included a five-year stop in Louisiana before ultimately settling in Georgia, first in Stone Mountain and Snellville, and later in Senoia. A lifelong fan of the Dallas Cowboys from his formative years in Texas, Harmon also became a dedicated Atlanta Braves follower and loyal Georgia football fan while spending a decade on the Bulldog home game stats crew. His favorite hobby was travel photography, which he once compiled in a limited-edition coffee table book entitled "Lasting Impressions." He especially loved traveling to the magnificent National Parks in the U.S. and Canada. The memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at 2:00 PM at Newnan Presbyterian Church, 38 Greenville Street, Newnan, GA 30263, with Rev. David Jones officiating. The family will receive friends from 12:30 PM until service time at the church. In leiu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to The National Park Foundation, https://www.nationalparks.org/how-you-can-help. Condolences can also be expressed to the family online at www.mckoon.com. McKoon Funeral Home & Crematory (770) 253-4580

Frank Martin Harmon

December 13, 1951 - November 18, 2025