Captain Raymond John Harbrecht

Captain Raymond John Harbrecht, USN RET, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1936. He attended the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa on a football and track scholarship, graduating in 1957 with a degree in history. Upon discovering that he was number one on the draft list in his area, he decided to enlist in the Navy and received a commission through OCS in November 1957. After twenty-four years in the U.S. Navy he retired, having achieved the rank of Captain. During that time he served on many ships, most notably as Commanding Officer of the USS Morton and the first Captain of the USS Spruance. In early 1982 he joined Litton Industries as the Director of Waterfront Operations at their Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. For fifteen years he was directly involved in the construction and delivery of 31 ships to the U.S. Navy. In 1993 he moved to Fish River in Baldwin County, Alabama, before retiring for good in 1997 and ultimately ending up in Fairhope, Alabama. He often said that the two best decisions he ever made were joining the Navy and marrying the love of his life, Barbara Eskelin. Just two weeks after they met they were engaged to be married and April 24, 1961 marked the beginning of their 59 and a half years together. He was stern when necessary, but generous to a fault and there was nothing that he would not do for his family and friends. He had a beautiful singing voice and loved hosting parties and watching the Green Bay Packers play, but he was always happiest on the water, particularly if he had a fishing pole in his hand. Raymond was preceded in death by his beautiful bride, Barbara, and survived by two children, Raymond Paul Harbrecht (Bobbi) and Christine Jane Buchanan and two grandchildren, Aaron Nicholas Buchanan and Olivia Rose Buchanan. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The South Alabama Land Trust at https://southalabamalandtrust.org/ to help protect and preserve Raymond’s beloved Weeks Bay.