Dr. Harry J. Amling

DR. HARRY J. AMLING Dr. Harry James Amling, 81, of Opelika, Alabama passed away Monday, July 30, 2012, at his home after an extended illness. Born January 22, 1931 in Baltimore, MD, Harry was the son of the late Harold and Lina H. Amling. He served in the Army from 1953-54, received his B.S. at Rutgers University, his M.S. at the University of Delaware, and Ph.D. in Horticulture at Michigan State University. He was a professor of Horticulture for 30 years at Auburn University where he was actively involved in pecan research. He retired from the university in 1987. Harry enjoyed traveling and visiting new places all over the world and encouraged his children to have the same spirit of adventure. He loved nature, was an avid birdwatcher, and was interested in Civil War history and Southeastern Indian artifacts. After his retirement he became quite interested in genealogy and traced his family back to the mid-1600's. Harry enjoyed meeting people; he could talk to anybody and never met a stranger. Survivors include his wife of 35 years, Karen Amling; children, Jenifer (Sam) Wrigley, Jeff Amling, Jay Amling, Kate (Nathan) Button and Suzi (David) McKibben; 9 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren and his first wife, Jeanne Amling. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by an infant son, David. The family wishes to thank the staff members of Home Instead Senior Care and Hospice Advantage for their dedicated care of Harry, especially during the past16 months. A private memorial service will be held for family and close friends. Donations in Harry's memory can be made to Hospice Advantage or the Alabama Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Claude A. McKibben and Sons Funeral Home of Hogansville was in charge of arrangements.