David M. Haradon

David Mark Haradon, age 72, of Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, passed away on June 5, 2025. Dave was the loving husband of Peggy Lee Haradon (Murphy), with whom he shared 51 years of marriage. Dave was born on October 23, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee, to Myron Ralph and Sara Claire Burke Haradon (Burke).

Dave fell in love with his wife, Peggy, in the Purdue University Marching Band where Dave played trumpet while studying as a chemical engineering major with a minor in marketing, and Peggy was studying to be a child life specialist while tossing a baton as a beautiful sequined majorette. After college, Dave began a 20+ year career with the DuPont company in senior management sales, marketing, product management and strategic planning roles. This caused his family to live in many areas of the country: Seaford, DE; Waynesboro, VA; Wilmington, DE; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; and Kennett Square, PA. After leaving DuPont, Dave started his own webinar production company in 2001.

Dave’s pride and joy was being called Papa by those that love him. He is remembered for eating Papa-Oh’s and Krispy Kreme donuts (especially when the hot sign is on), and of course, there’s always Papa-Tea! His grandchildren will miss Papa playing monster at the playground and soccer and ping pong in the basement, going on long walks at the beach, finding horseshoe crabs, and treating them to Starbucks! Papa loved hosting popcorn movie nights and going to the movies. He played many rounds of frisbee golf with his grandchildren. Papa always had time for a conversation and loved to both teach and learn new things.

Dave cherished traveling with Peggy and his family, whether it be their annual trips to Massanutten, going to their beach house in Bethany, Delaware, visiting the family farm in Indiana where he could jump on a tractor to mow the lawn, exploring the National Parks, or adventuring to far-away places like Australia. He enjoyed music of all kinds – concerts, musicals, performing with his trumpet, or playing his banjo and guitar late into the evening hours. Dave was also always ready for a good prank (like the great toilet paper caper), good jokes, bad jokes, and even inappropriate jokes - cue an eyeroll from Peggy. He loved his family, pickleball, skiing, golfing, playing games, and most importantly “happiness”!

Dave leaves behind this legacy of happiness and love for his family, and is also well known for leaving the world a better place through service to his community. Dave’s community service efforts started in his high school Key Club (Kiwanis) and continued during his early career with senior leadership roles in Jaycee International. In those early years, he was recognized as the Young Virginia Man of the Year in the late 1970s.

After their children went off to college, Dave began serving with countless organizations in his Southern Chester County community. Dave joined the Longwood Rotary Club in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in May 1999 ”just because someone asked him to.” As a second-generation Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow (Dave’s Father: Club President-Clinton, Iowa) he was Longwood Rotary Club’s President from 2008-2009, District 7450 Conference Chair in 2011, Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) instructor, District 7450 Corporate Board of Director member, District Treasurer, and Rotary District 7450 Governor from 2016-2017. Dave’s passion for both individual and organizational leadership was manifested in many white papers, articles, and even a course on transformational leadership through the Rotary Leadership Institute “Transforming Your Rotary Club: How to Create an EXTRAORDINARY Rotary Club for your Members, Your Community and the World.” He instructed thousands of people in hundreds of organizations about creating EXTRAORDINARY lives and showing how this relates to leading EXTRAORDINARY organizations. One of Dave’s favorite quotes that reinforces Rotary’s ”Service Above Self” motto is: “The best way to find your own self is to lose yourself in the service of others.” - Mahatma Gandhi

In addition to his work with the Rotary Club, Dave was the founding Board President of Family Promise - an inter-faith model to serve the homeless children and their families in Southern Chester County. He served as the Kennett Square Memorial Day Parade Committee Chairman, served for two years on the Historic Kennett Square Board of Directors and spent a year as the Oxford Main Street Executive Director. He was on the Board of Directors of the Oxford Area Civic Association and served as co-facilitator/leader with the bi-monthly Kennett Square “Bridging the Community” organization that brings people together to help meet the needs of the Kennett Square area and provides community service volunteer opportunities for residents. Together with Dansko, Inc., Dave helped “bridge” Project Cure, the largest provider of donated medical supplies and equipment to developing countries, resulting in the establishment of a new Project Cure refurbishment and distribution center in the former Dansko headquarters facility in West Grove.

Dave was also actively involved with local YMCAs, including serving as a technical producer for numerous Kennett YMCA and Jennersville YMCA Good Kids fundraising dinners. He also served on the Kennett YMCA Golf Fundraising Committee and on the Jennersville YMCA’s Togetherhood community service program committee. Dave also volunteered with or served with the Episcopal Church of the Advent, the Kennett Food Cupboard, LaComunidad Hispana, the Kennett Senior Center, and the United Way of Southern Chester County.

Dave was honored as Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce in 2015. Dave once said, “You can change someone’s life forever in a 5-minute conversation along with the life of their friends, the life of the family and the lives of people that you will never know. That’s the game we are in. The game of “service above self.” The game of making a difference in someone’s life. Not by using a selfie stick, but using a selfless stick to build a better world.”

Dave will forever be remembered by his son, Jonathon Mark Haradon, and wife Sarah; his daughter, Marcia Lynne Preston, and husband Darrin; his grandchildren, Marlowe Lee Haradon, Mason Burke Haradon, Braydon David Preston, Madelyn Lee Preston, Destiny Alexis Preston, and Cody Sean Preston; and several great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his sister, Vera Lynne Haradon.

A funeral service to celebrate Dave’s life will be held Monday, June 16th at 2:00pm at Church of the Advent in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, with viewing at 1:00pm.  Please wear colorful attire to help celebrate Dave's happy life.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Dave’s memory may be made to the Longwood Rotary Foundation https://longwoodrotary.com/page/rotary-foundation. The family also encourages everyone to pick up trash, sign up for a community service event, or do something nice for someone in Dave’s memory. In Dave’s words: “Consider the possibility of simply doing something for someone else, simply because you can.”

Arrangements are by Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. (484-734-8100) of Kennett Square. To view Dave’s online obituary and share a memory of Dave with the family, please visit www.griecofunerals.com.