Avis Marie Harvey

Avis Marie Harvey passed to her reward peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on February 22, 2025, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, after a brief illness. Avis was born in Allegan County, Michigan on February 17, 1933. Avis is preceded in death by her parents Roy Edward and Katherine Dora (Hansen) Lowery of Union City, Michigan, her brother Merle Lowery of Gun Lake, Michigan, and her sister Marlene Wessell of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Avis distinguished herself at Union City High School (Michigan) as a cheerleader, its alumni scholarship recipient, and the salutatorian of its class of 1951. Avis took bachelor’s (1955) and master’s (1974) degrees in music education from the University of Michigan. She took graduate studies from the Peabody Institute of Music.

Avis’s career as an educator began to blossom in 1965 when she joined the Lakeview School District, Battle Creek, MI. Teaching in elementary, middle, and high schools, Avis evolved its Highland middle school’s single elective musical course into required classes for 6th and 7th graders, its 11 person chorus into a 100 person choir, and founded an annual student production and performance of a classic Broadway musical. In 1975, Avis accepted the Lakeview board’s request that she chair the school’s music department.

Avis transformed LVH’s Spartanaires, a pop ‘song and dance’ 20 student ensemble with its own instrumental accompaniment, from an extracurricular activity into a rigorous elective course requiring auditions to find the school’s most talented vocalists, dancers, and musicians. The Spartanaires entertained often throughout southern Michigan in response to requests from the area’s leading groups and organizations. LVH’s administrative executives and board considered the Spartanaires its ‘goodwill ambassadors’ for all Lakeview schools. Avis led the Spartanaires through an award winning European tour in 1979.

Avis’s 82 student LVH a cappella choirs won top state awards annually. This choir’s successes became so notorious that many competing schools adopted Avis’s then-novel technique of placing all voice types (tenor, soprano, baritone, bass) alongside each other, as opposed to separating each type into a separate section of the choir, as was customary. Avis maintained active memberships Music Educators National Conference, Michigan School Vocal Association, and the NEA. Avis retired in June

1989 but never stopped mentoring the former students who continued to seek her guidance, many of whom took careers in the musical arts.

Avis married Arthur Harvey in June 1984. The couple enjoyed their rigorous and meandering trips throughout all North America. Periodically the devoted couple established residences throughout the USA: Florida (twice), Climax and Cheboygan MI, and Montana. Avis served in these communities as music director, choir master, and/or organist for a nearby Catholic parish.

Avis is survived by her adoring husband of 40 years, Arthur Harvey (Sarasota FLA), his four children, six grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren.

Avis is also survived by the progeny of her prior marriage to Nicola R. Pontoni (Athens, MI, deceased): daughter Tina Pontoni (Sarasota FLA); son Peter Pontoni (Battle Creek, MI), Peter’s children Ashley Bays (Portage, MI); Andrew Pontoni, (Brooklyn, NY), Jordon Pontoni (Athens, MI), Cadet Ariana Pontoni (Colorado Springs, CO), and Giada Pontoni (Battle Creek, MI), and Peter’s grandchildren Grayson Bays, Wesley Bays, Hannah Bays (Ashley), Landon Pontoni (Jordan), and Hazel Pontoni (Andrew); and son Michele R. Pontoni, Esq., (Las Vegas, NV) and his children Domenick Pontoni, Antoniette Pontoni, Thaddeus Prieto Pontoni and Theodore Prieto Pontoni (all Las Vegas, NV).

A Requiem Mass shall be offered for Avis at St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church at 2506 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota, at 10:00 a.m., Friday, March 21, 2025. The Rite of Committal and internment service shall occur at Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State Rd 72, Sarasota, Florida, at 12:30 p.m., Monday, March 24, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Cancer Society.

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