Earl Hargrove - Obituary

arl Christian Hargrove, Jr. – father, friend, entrepreneur and showman, passed away peacefully on the morning of April 6, 2015, surrounded by his family. He was 86 years old. Earl Jr. was born on October 5, 1928 to Cecilia Garrett and Earl Sr. of Richmond, VA. He lived with his maternal grandparents until he was eleven years old, when he moved with his parents into a new home in Cheverly, MD. He graduated from Bladensburg High School in 1946 and, at seventeen years old, joined the United States Marine Corps. He celebrated his eighteenth birthday during basic training at Parris Island Marine Corps Boot Camp. He served for two years and was honorably discharged in 1948; he reenlisted in 1951 and served in the Marine Corps until 1954. In 1955, Earl married Gloria Love of Cheverly, MD. In 1958, they purchased a 125-acre farm in Southern Maryland where he built a large antebellum home and raised five children. The Hargrove’s ‘Holly Springs Farm’ became well known in the area for the festive "Christmas Lane" decorations that grew to enchant almost 30,000 visitors annually until its final year in 2002. A proud Marine Corps veteran, he began his career trimming store windows in Washington, DC at the end of World War II. In partnership with his father Earl Sr., their business provided holiday decorations, Christmas-themed props and patriotic flags for the annual celebrations of local townships. The father-son team built parade floats, which toured local festivals in the mid-Atlantic region, from Virginia to New Jersey. Parade float production would become a major part of Hargrove Displays Inc.’s work. An important early milestone was building parade floats for President Harry Truman's inaugural in 1949. They began decorating the National Christmas Tree and Pageant of Peace in 1955 and was named the official decorator for the Miss America Pageant in 1956. Business and political connections lead to more opportunities to design, decorate and produce special events, which would eventually supersede float building as the primary activity of the company. When his father passed away suddenly during a business trip in 1971, Earl Jr. took the helm to lead Hargrove Inc. through four decades of growth and expansion. As of January 2013, President Barack Obama’s second inaugural was the seventeenth consecutive presidential inauguration in which the company participated. Hargrove Inc. celebrated sixty continuous years of decorating the National Christmas Tree in 2014 and continues to expand, most recently into experiential marketing with its productions for brands such as Anheuser-Busch. Earl fell in love with Shenandoah Caverns in New Market, VA, which he purchased in 1966. It became a vacation destination for his family. Most weekends were spent there with the Proctors, who became their extended family. Earl modified the caverns property in three major phases, each time building a new attraction to delight visitors. He played an active role in the management of the caverns until his final days. He is survived by his wife, Gloria Love Hargrove of Lothian, MD; his son, Earl “Chris” Hargrove, III and granddaughter Cierra Cecilia, of Crownsville, MD; his daughter Kathleen Hargrove Kelly, her husband Clyde Vernon, grandson Robert Hargrove and fiancée Ashley Fay Manger of Grasonville, MD and preceded in death by grandson Clyde Vernon, IV; daughter Carla Hargrove McGill, her husband Timothy Patrick and granddaughter Kelsey Kathleen of Annapolis, MD; daughter Cynthia Diane Hargrove, her husband Michael Eli Busada, granddaughter Allison Victoria Kluh and grandson John Joseph Kluh of Lothian, MD; and son Carey Martin Hargrove, his wife Wendy Miller, and grandsons Carson Miller and Hudson Clyde, of Lothian, MD. Family and friends may visit on Friday, April 10 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at his home, Holly Springs Farm, 571 West Bay Front Road, Lothian, MD 20711. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, April 11 at 11:00 a.m. at St. James’ Church, 5757 Solomons Island Road, Lothian, MD 20711 followed by interment in the church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations, in memory of Earl C. Hargrove, Jr., may be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and be sent to: Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Attn: Earl Hargrove Memorial Donations, 909 North Washington Street, Ste. 400, Alexandria, VA 22314 or by visiting www.mcsf.org/donate. Donations may also be made in his name to HEROES, Inc. at www.Heroes-Inc.org.