The community recently lost a beacon of positivity with the passing of Duane “Harv” Ries, a man who spent years sharing his love of music and the outdoors and brightened the lives of everybody around him.

As described by several of his siblings, Harv grew up in a country family, and while they didn’t live on a farm, they were all raised to enjoy gardening and other outdoor activities. The Ries kids were also all active in 4-H.

Their father having quite the green thumb, Harv’s brothers Dean and Don Ries indicated that this likely had a big impact on his later career as a landscaper as well as his general appreciation for being out in nature.

Don described the wide variety of plants the family grew, from peaches and other fruit to a brief foray into peanuts.

Dean recalled a childhood memory of a rather pointed brotherly quarrel in which Harv was harassing him while he was trying to take care of a straw bale, continually knocking it down. Dean ultimately threw a pitchfork in his direction and managed to catch Harv’s shoe with it.

Debbie Koch, Harv’s sister, shared a less dangerous anecdote, describing how, for a brief period, the family would spend time together entertaining nursing home residents.

“After church, we would go to the Waterloo nursing home and perform,” Koch said. “We would sing, the boys would play guitar, he’d play piano… I’m sure it was his musical gift that he led us all with.”

Koch further emphasized her brother’s musical talents, noting how she envied him as she rigorously practiced her skills and he seemed to have a natural talent for playing the piano and other instruments.

She also recalled his participation in plays and musicals during high school, mentioning in particular how she – several years younger than Harv – joined him on stage for a performance of “The King and I.”

Don also spoke about Harv’s musical abilities, noting how all the kids dabbled in music, but Harv really took off with it.

Don and Koch also recalled Harv being named salutatorian at his graduation.

“He was very, very smart,” Don said. “His career could have went pretty well any path that he would have chose, I think… He was second in his class as far as grade-point average when they graduated, so he was way, way smarter than me.”

He attended the University of Illinois for a pre-med education for a brief period before stepping away, and he ultimately wound up pursuing a longtime career in landscaping and lawncare.

Harv met Ellen Gates through a friend from college and, following other relationships, the two reconnected 23 years ago.

While they never married, Harv referred to Gates as the love of his life while she called him her “Honey Harv.”

Gates offered some perspective on Harv in his later years, noting how he always kept busy with his landscaping work as well as his own gardening, constantly having some kind of project going on.

With his love of the outdoors, Harv also enjoyed hunting for many years, though he more recently stepped away from actively hunting to help his son with dog training.

Just as he was an avid musician as a kid, Harv shared his love of music with the community for many years. He notably played the piano and French horn, though he was likely most recognizable for his accordion.

As Gates said, Harv, 70, would have continued playing quite happily were it not for the arthritis and neuropathy he developed shortly before his death.

On top of his musical talents, Harv also shared his tremendous positivity with those around him. Each of his siblings mentioned his laugh or smile, as did Gates.

“The outpouring of love from Harv was that he had an infectious laugh,” Gates said. “Everybody knew Harv’s laugh and his big smile. They were touched a lot by his musical talent and just being an overall good guy.”

His siblings also noted how sudden his passing has felt.

“I’m sorry he had to go too quick,” Dean said. “It was not his time, but that’s not for me to decide.”

As his family and loved ones have felt the loss of Harv, so too have his friends and the rest of the community.

Harv performed at a number of venues over the years, notably entertaining at the Monroe County Farmers Market the past few years.

A post on the organization’s Facebook page notes how he was considered a member of the market family, acting as the first musician to perform there and initially approaching the market with the intent to play without compensation.

Songs4Soldiers founder and Dazed N Confused STL drummer Dustin Row spoke as a friend of Harv’s, recalling how he knew him as a fellow local musician and adding Harv never missed one of the Songs4Soldiers concerts.

Row also mentioned how he once spoke to Harv about why he didn’t wear headphones when he was mowing grass, with Harv responding that he had the music “all right here” in his head.

“I think there’s very few people in your life that the minute you see them you’re instantly smiling and happy because you have to be, because he is,” Row said. “He was that huge of a chunk of positivity. We all have bad days, and I’m sure Harv had them, but you would never have known it.”

Harv’s daughter Amber Quade also had plenty to say about her father.

Like many others, she spoke about his love of music and how he shared that with her by taking her to her first concert.

He likewise shared his love of nature with Quade, recognizing a collection of leaves for a project in grade school.

She spoke highly about how he raised her, welcoming her friends and instilling in her the same sort of “free spirit” and laid back attitude that he had.

Quade also spoke of his place in the community as, even 2,000 miles away, she often heard from friends about how they saw her dad around town.

She pointed out the positivity that he brought to those around him, and emphasized how much of a loss his passing is.

“My dad was one-of-a-kind,” Quade said. “He was jovial, caring, empathetic and a free spirit. He loved music, animals and all the people in his life, which was a lot… My dad will truly be missed by an entire community. Life was more colorful with him and his tie dye shirts in it.”