‘Big Harry’ Recalled as Recreation’s ‘Gentle Giant’

Hundreds of Huntington Beach residents gathered under a giant pine tree Saturday to mourn Harry Montague and remember his work with the city’s youth.

Fondly known as “Big Harry,” Montague was with the recreation department for 12 years, coaching the essentials of sports and offering a willing ear to those in need.

“He was a gentle giant,” remembered co-worker Suzie Smith of the 6-foot, 5-inch, 240-pound Montague. “He just had a way about him that the kids were drawn to. They were very comfortable with him.”

Montague, an avid bicyclist, was killed last June in a bicycle accident on Pacific Coast Highway. He was 40.

Although he enjoyed all sports, Montague’s true love was basketball. With dozens of the young athletes he coached looking on Saturday, a towering pine tree in front of city basketball courts at 21377 Magnolia Ave., along with a plaque, were dedicated to his memory.

Scholarship Fund Created

And four young athletes--two young men and two young women--were awarded the first Montague scholarships from a fund created after his death by friends and relatives.

The $10,000 scholarship fund yielded the first four $400 scholarships. Each winner was a member of the Edison High School varsity basketball team. They were Laura Radloff, Tiffany Nii, Jason Carey and Bryan Murphy.

Nii called Montague “the nicest man I ever met.”

For Carey, Montague was “one of the most influential persons in my life. He got me started in basketball in the third grade. . . . He was truly a good friend.”

“Harry never blew his own horn,” said Shirley Carey, Jason’s mother. “He may not have realized the impact he had. We all thought he would be around forever.”

His mother, Evelyn Montague, was pleased with the memorial. She said she was both gratified and surprised at the outpouring of affection.

“I didn’t know him as a community leader,” Evelyn Montague said. “I just knew him as a kidder at home.”

Montague grew up in Long Beach and went to Millikan High School and Long Beach City College. He earned an economics degree at UCLA and a masters degree in recreation from Cal State Long Beach.

Bob Werth, the city’s senior recreation supervisor, said Montague viewed his position as more than a job and that he had an “above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty attitude.”

“He saw hundreds of kids each day and he knew almost all of them by name,” Werth said. “He even knew a little something about each one. He had an outstanding memory.”

“He is being sorely missed. Very few like him come along,” Smith said. “He encouraged the kids that had potential to get into coaching. He gave them a sense of responsibility. Harry saw in them what others didn’t see.”