ELISABETH KUBLER-ROSS once said, “As far as service goes, it can take the form of a million things. To do service, you don’t have to be a doctor working in the slums for free or become a social worker. Your position in life and what you do doesn’t matter as much as how you do what you do.”
Joe M. Harlan has lived out the words of this famous Swiss-American psychiatrist very well. Born in August 1949 in Beebe, Arkansas, Harlan spent most of his childhood in Burns, Tennessee, and Oakville, Kentucky, graduating high school in 1967.
From then on, most of the now Bowling Green resident’s life has been characterized by service. Not many people would say anything different, and perhaps the person most responsible for setting Harlan on such a path was his dad, a U.S. Army veteran who battled in WWII in the infantry, fighting throughout Europe. “He was a good, sound country boy … overseas and so forth,” Harlan said. “I felt like I needed to do the same thing.”
With two years of college behind him, Harlan joined the Army in 1969. He served as a Green Beret in the Army Special Forces from 1969 to 1972 during the Vietnam era. About 20 years later, in 1991, the Army sent Harlan overseas to the Middle East for four months to support troops in Operation Desert Storm. This mission to free Kuwait began five months after Iraq’s invasion of the country. By late February 1991, the U.S. and its allies had succeeded. For 32 years, he served the United States Army at about five military installations in the South, including Fort Campbell, located along the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
While some can find Army service challenging, Harlan enjoyed his time.
“To me, it didn’t seem difficult,” Harlan said. “I enjoyed it. You learned a lot. You do the right things. Everybody took care of each other. I could travel, and I liked to meet people and learn new skills. It was just a really nice experience.”
Amidst his military career, Harlan also volunteered for the Russellville Rural Fire Department, an organization of community volunteers. He continued his life of service by saving and helping those in need. For about 30 years, he rescued people from fires, car wrecks, and more, becoming captain about 15 years into the job.
“In the summertime, and the fall especially, we might have two or three runs a week, and it was at our expense,” Harlan recalled. “We never got paid for it.”
Years after he retired, the fire department created an annual excellence award, the Joe M. Harlan Award, testifying to the man’s great heart of service and given to those who displayed a similar commitment. The department gave the award for the first time in December 2023.
Turning 75 years old in 2024, Harlan still strives to serve others today. He moved to Charter Senior Living of Bowling Green with his wife in 2024. Although he no longer supports the United States Army or saves people from fires, in the words of Kubler-Ross, his position in life and what he does doesn’t matter as much as how he does what he does. Even if it’s just pushing other residents’ wheelchairs or cheering them up, Harlan performs his actions with faithfulness, believing that encouragement and setting a good example are goals everyone should adopt.
While Harlan’s servanthood played out in public, it also, most importantly, took place with his spouse of over 50 years. He met Linda at church in 1969 and dated her in college, marrying a year later in 1970. Together, they have three children and several grandchildren.
During their retirement, Linda was diagnosed with brain cancer. Her condition worsened around the time they moved to Bowling Green, which came as a shock to him. With joy and great love, he faithfully served the love of his life 24/7.
“[I try] to keep her in good spirits, and she’s getting better,” said Joe, laughingly saying she still loves to sing.
Joe’s dedication to service did not go unrecognized, as the Kentucky Senior Living Association delivered the Resident Lifetime Achievement Award to him on March 14, 2024.
“I feel like the people are recognizing the fact that we are trying to do the right thing for the right reasons,” Joe said. “I think it caught me by surprise – that was very nice of them.”
As his daughter, Jennifer, would say — Joe continues to have a servant’s heart, living as a servant leader and man of God. GN
