This year Harvard lost a number of citizens, past and present, who over the years made contributions that helped the town become what it is today. Whether serving on town boards or in churches, or just being good neighbors, they each added something to the town’s character that will be missed. Their deaths were mourned by all who knew them.

In 2007 Harvard said good-bye to:

Marc E. Anderson, 42, who ran an organic farm and was an active member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel of the Saint Benedict Center in Still River.

Josephine Barba, 91, who had been an active member of St. Theresa’s and in many organizations. She was a regular at the Hildreth House.

Raymond A. Bisson Jr., 44, a painting contractor in Lunenburg who grew up in Harvard and graduated from Bromfield.

Nancy Moir Brown, 68, the waterfront director on Bare Hill Pond for many years.

Sharon Perica Campbell, swimmer, traveler, renowned pastry chef.

Evelyn M. Clark, 88, a former longtime Harvard resident.

Phyllis Colbert, 72, of San Francisco, who was born and raised in Harvard and was a graduate of Bromfield.

Hank Emerson, 83, who served the town as a member of Harvard School Council, a board member of the Council on Aging, a School Committee member, and member of Rotary Club. He was also active in the Unitarian church.

Phyllis Dakin Fredrick, 92, a former longtime Harvard resident who lived in Groton. She worked for many years as assistant librarian in the Harvard Public Library.

Earle C. Gabrielsen, 90, who grew up in Harvard and served the town in several capacities, including equipment operator for the highway department for more than 30 years and deputy fire chief for 15 years.

Mary Jane Gregg, 88, a former Harvard resident who was an advocate for conservation and social justice. In addition to her involvement with the Congregational Church, where her husband, Ted Gregg, was pastor, she was active in the League of Women voters and hosted participants in the Harvard-Roxbury summer exchange program.

Donna E. (Hardy) Harrod, 64, of Still River, a former nurse and Harvard paramedic who worked as an R.N. in the emergency room at Nashoba Hospital in Ayer for many years.

James C. Longcope, 70, a former Harvard resident who was a psychiatrist at Emerson hospital.

Charles Perkins, 94, former town moderator, who was active in the Harvard schools, was a former trustee of the Bromfield Trust, and a member of the Harvard Unitarian Church. He was a member of the Harvard Lions Club and in November 1993 received the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, the high honor conferred by the Lions Club International Foundation. He was also a member of Harvard’s Sixty Plus Club.

Helen J. (Horgan) Pointras, 86, longitme resident, communicant at St. Theresa's.

Alan W. Rouvel, 55, a Harvard firefighter and Harvard Sportsmen’s Club member.

Ruth C. Streeter, 84, whose husband Clark was the town doctor in the 1940s, was active in community life in Harvard.

Rita Wargo, 77, who was an active member of St. Theresa’s Church.

Three members of the Watt family of Still River:

Amy E. Watt, 91, an animal lover, a gardening enthusiast known for her “green thumb,” and a hobbyist who enjoyed knitting and rug hooking.

Richard A. Watt, 93, a dairy farmer who served on the Finance Committee.

Wilbert A. “Buzzy” Watt, 88, a dairy farmer who was a 4-H leader as a young man, a life member of the Congregational Church, a life member of the Harvard Historical Society, a 16-year member of the Harvard Planning Board, and also its representative to the Conservation Commission.

Alan Williamson, 68, an insurance executive and financial planner who was also in the Rotary Club, the Masonic Lodge in Ayer, the Harvard Sportsmen’s Club, and a member of the Congregational Church.

Richard Wolfson, 63, photography enthusiast, pilot, sailor, scientist, and an entrepreneur who started three software companies, including Harvard Software.