Harvey Serreze

On Thursday, July 25, 2024, Harvey Serreze of Pepperell, MA passed away at the age of 80.

Harvey was born on December 22, 1943 in Weymouth, MA to Victor and Emily “Betty” (Martas) Serreze. As a child, he lived with his family in Braintree, Arlington and Lexington, MA, graduating from Lexington High School. He then attended Tufts University where he received a B.S., Magna Cum Laude, in Electrical Engineering in 1965. He remained at Tufts to earn a M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1968 and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1974.

On September 13, 1970, Harvey married Judith Delling in the Tufts University chapel. They moved to Hopkinton, MA in 1972 shortly after the birth of their son Peter. The family moved to Dover, MA in 1977, shortly before the birth of their son Matthew in 1978. The family moved to Pound Ridge, NY in 1983, and then to Pepperell, MA in 1994.

Before receiving his Ph.D., Harvey worked at NASA during the Apollo moon landing era, where he fabricated and studied GaSb-ZnTe heterojunctions. As a new Ph.D, he entered the emerging industry of solar cells, working as a scientist for Mobil-Tyco Solar Energy Corporation outside Boston. His focus later shifted to semiconductors and lasers, working for McDonnell Douglas, American Cyanamid, and Stauffer Chemical Company in the New York area. After the family moved to Pepperell, for many years he was the R&D Director for optoelectronics for Spire Corporation, located in Bedford, MA, and then joined Bandwith Semiconductor and BAE Systems. Late in his career, he returned to the solar cell industry, again for Spire Corporation where he invented and managed the company’s solar simulators, and for Eternal Sun Corporation.

He had 7 patents and over 70 publications and presentations. One recent patent (2016, when he was 72) was for “Solar Simulator,” U.S. Patent No. 9,250,122. His late career work took him around the globe, including to China, South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Harvey’s favorite hobby was bicycling. He discovered mountain biking in his late 40s and then rode avidly, both off- and on-road, recreationally and competitively, individually and in groups, until his final weeks. He especially enjoyed group rides with his many bicycling buddies. He loved the outdoors, including backpacking trips with his children, coaching baseball, kayaking, and cross country skiing. He enjoyed classical and jazz music, photography, ham radio, pickleball, making homemade pizza, and his 2009 Audi sports car. He could fix anything and until his later years did all his own home improvement and car repairs. He delighted in his grandchildren, attending countless sporting events and musical and theatrical performances.

He was active in the Pepperell community, serving as the vice chair of the Council of Aging, a member of the Charter Review Committee and the Light, Air and Noise Bylaw Committee, providing volunteer trail maintenance, and delivering meals for PACH, the Pepperell food pantry.

He will be remembered for being devoted to his family, friendliness, honesty, technical wizardry, generosity, and -- until his final year -- abundant, age-defying energy.

Harvey was preceded in death by his parents Victor Sr. and Betty, and his brother Victor Jr. He is survived by his wife Judith, his son Peter Serreze and daughter-in-law Susan (Davidson) Serreze and grandchildren Wesley and Sara Serreze; and his son Matthew Serreze and daughter-in-law Sara (Sussman) Serreze and grandchildren Scout and Smith Serreze.

A service will be held at 11:00AM on Saturday, August 24 at McGaffigan Funeral Home, 37 Main St., (Rte. 113) Pepperell, MA. The service will be live-streamed via www.harborview.live. Please view this link at the time of the service. In lieu of flowers, donations in Harvey’s memory may be made to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org) or the Nashua River Watershed Association (www.nashuariverwatershed.org)