Robert James Harbison III

In 1947, he joined Harbisons Dairies, becoming president and CEO in 1952. He was the fourth generation of Harbisons to lead the dairy founded by Robert Harbison in 1865. Under his leadership, Harbisons Dairies in Kensington grew to about 700 employees, with 385 home-delivery milk routes and six plants. As women joined the workforce, Mr. Harbison foresaw that supermarkets would replace home delivery as the source of milk, so he sought out Southland Corp., owner of the 7-Eleven convenience stores, as a business partner. Mr. Harbison stayed on for a decade, ending in 1978, and ran Southland's Eastern Dairies Division, consisting of Harbisons and Embassy Dairies in Baltimore. Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of Sophia Ernst and Robert James Harbison Jr. He grew up in Frankford and moved with his family to Abington. He graduated from William Penn Charter School in 1940. In 1950, he married Elizabeth "Betty" Thompson. The two settled in Abington. They moved to Meadowbrook and, finally, Huntingdon Valley. She died in 2008. He is survived by sons James Prescott, John Robert, Stephen Bartley, and Jeffrey Thompson; 10 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a brother. He majored in mathematics at Harvard College, enrolled in officer training, and graduated early so he could join the Marine Corps. He rose to the rank of captain. After World War II, he earned a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.