Patricia Harner, community leader

Services will be held Saturday, Nov. 26, for Patricia Farrand Harner, 73, of Center City, a neighborhood leader and advocate for change, who died Saturday, Oct. 29, at home of pancreatic cancer.

For a half-century, Mrs. Harner was a resident of the Rittenhouse/Fitler Square neighborhoods, and she took living there as a privilege and a responsibility. When crime rose in the neighborhood in 1989, she founded RIT/FIT Town Watch and opened a dialogue with police to help address the issue.

"The neighborhood came together and got behind her on that," said daughter Susan.

She began a relationship with the police that was helpful, Susan Harner said.

"That, and her work with the Center City Residents Association, made for a stronger bond that helped bring crime down," she added.

Crime was not the only issue that spurred Mrs. Harner to act. She advocated for women's rights, environmental protection, nuclear nonproliferation, and the prevention of violence among youth.

She volunteered in health clinics in Mali and at an orphanage in Kenya.

Her daughter said Mrs. Harner cheerfully served as a mother "not only to her children, but a mother figure to so many who drew from her strength, wisdom and love."

"She has left a hole in our hearts and in the neighborhood and city she loved."

Born in Elizabeth, N.J., Mrs. Harner graduated from Westfield High School in Union County, N.J. In 1964, she earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Vermont, and a master's degree in physiology in 1966 from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

She began her career in 1966 as a copywriter for Grass Medical Instrument Co. in Quincy, Mass., which provided medical instruments for neuroscientists engaged in research.

In 1973 and 1974, while working at Planned Parenthood in Southeastern Pennsylvania, she saw the need for a pregnancy-testing clinic, so she opened one.

"Women having control of their bodies was very important to her," her daughter said.

In the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Mrs. Harner was a marketing director for a series of advertising agencies seeking to promote clients' pharmaceutical products or medical services.

From 1999 to 2011, Mrs. Harner was executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

In that role, she adopted the group's mission to interrupt the cycle of youth violence by offering programs for young people.

One such effort was called Legs Against Arms 5K Run/Walk. It aimed "to strengthen our legs as we oppose illegal handguns in Philadelphia," according to the mission statement.

"That was her baby," her daughter said.

When not engaged in activism, Mrs. Harner liked to fish.

"She was an avid fly fisherperson," her daughter said. "Being outside in nature was a big thing. The calm was a lot of it."

From 2003 to 2005, she was president and board director of the Anglers Club of Philadelphia.

Besides her daughter, she is survived by children Judd and Cheryl; life partner Curt Hill; and former husband Richard Harner.

A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. Nov. 26 at Trinity Memorial Church, 2212 Spruce St. Burial is private.

Donations may be made to Planned Parenthood-Southeastern PA, 1144 Locust St., Philadelphia 19107.

bcook@phillynews.com

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