Harlan Jefferson “Jed” Friend,
1958-2022
Dr. Harlan Jefferson “Jed” Friend died peacefully on September 27, 2022 with his family by his side, after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 64 years old.
Jed was born in Liberty, Texas on January 18, 1958, and finished Liberty High School in 1976. He cherished his life- long friends from his neighborhood Treetop Terrace and from his high school.
He served in the United States Marine Corps, which included a tour in Japan for a year. He made some very good friends and developed a taste for fine sushi.
One of Jed’s core values was education. He proudly held a Ph. D. in Industrial- Organizational Psychology from Texas A& M University, an M. S. in Industrial Psychology from St. Mary’s University, and a B. A. in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine.
He also became a licensed pilot and always enjoyed getting a “$ 100 hamburger,” which means renting a plane with a friend and flying across the state to a “ nearby” airport café.
Professionally, Dr. Friend was committed to cultivating cultural fit and performance within many companies to increase productivity. One of his professional missions was to improve employee engagement. He served in several capacities including Vice President- Talent & Chief Learning Officer and Vice President of Talent Management. He owned several businesses over the years and also did consulting work.
One of his colleagues remembered Jed’s professional career as one of the most remarkable stories a human could tell. He said Jed was a kind- hearted professional leader which he believes made him a statesman of his industry. Jed consulted in psychological industrial engineering, which is the study of the human mind and how it functions in both professional and personal settings when dealing with adverse situations. He noted “ anyone who had the opportunity to work with Jed professionally, ALL now call him his friend. That, is uncanny! How Jed touched lives will never be forgotten by anyone who allowed their lives to be touched by him. Every professional relationship, for the most part, ended up including a friendship; that’s just who Jed was.”
Jed is preceded in death by his parents, Judge Harlan and Dorothy Weil Friend, his grandparents, Dorothy and Lewis Weil and Erba and Harlan Downs Friend.
Dr. Friend is survived by his precious children, Jefferson Grey Friend of College Station ( Texas A& M University) and Dana Mollie Friend of Stillwater, OK ( Oklahoma State Unive r s i ty) , s i s ters and brother and brothers- in- law, Shannon and Stuart Green, of Kingwood, and Shelley Friend and Travis Kessler of Austin, and Patrick D. Friend, of Houston. He is also survived by nieces, nephews, and grand- nieces and nephews: Sarah, Hill, Thomas and Charlie Ojeda, Caroline, Luis, Emilia and Bexar Salcedo, Alexandra Green and David Thomas and Katey Green and his best 11- year- old buddy and grand- nephew Dylan Michael Novier.
A Celebration of Life will be held in January. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Women in Aviation, https:// www. wai. org/ products/donate- to- wai