Meghan L. Harmon, 41

Posted

Meghan Lynn Harmon, 41, of Divernon, formerly of Litchfield, died Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Illinois State Library in Springfield, in the Atrium, at 12 p.m. A reception will follow. Location will be announced.  Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of service. Plummer Funeral Home in Litchfield is in charge of arrangements.

Ms. Harmon was born in Springfield on Dec. 22, 1983, the daughter of Robert Joseph and Beth (Hermsmeyer) Harmon. She excelled in her educational endeavors and was a graduate of Litchfield High School with the class of 2002. She went on to attain several degrees, including Associate Degree in Secondary Education from Lincoln Land Community College in 2004; Bachelor of Arts in English in 2006 and Master of Arts in English in 2008, both from University of Illinois, Springfield. She later earned a Master of Science in Library and Information Science in 2012 from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She felt it was important to continue with many educational opportunities whenever possible.

She married her high school sweetheart, the love of her life, Greg Bishop, on Sept. 17, 2015, in Springfield.

In her professional capacity, Ms. Harmon used her education to teach young adults English and humanities as an adjunct professor at Lincoln Land Community College. She then served as the local history and genealogy reference librarian at the Chatham Area Public Library District before taking the position of reference librarian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum where she earned the nickname “Megstar.” She then worked for the Illinois Secretary of State at the Illinois State Library as a library program specialist.

Ms. Harmon thrived off taking on challenges and doing things right. With her impeccable research and planning skills, she planned and made four trips with her husband to Iceland, traversing the island nation each time to seek out all its majesty. Alongside her husband, they’ve also hiked ten miles of the Alaska wilderness, toured many of the national parks in the Southwest, and taken in some of nature’s most amazing caves. Together, the two have seen countless live concerts of their favorite groups all over the Midwest and beyond. Wonderful dinners and game nights with close friends were a regular occurrence. Holidays with her immediate family were also a must. Her love of books found her providing professional presentations about rare manuscripts and how the public can access a wealth of information from their local and state libraries.

Ms. Harmon also enjoyed bonding with her fellow honors students as part of International College Honor Society Phi Theta Kappa. She was involved in the Friends of the Chatham Area Public Library, volunteering and performing in a decade’s worth of murder mystery fundraisers. When not busy training for a foot race, kayaking with her husband or taking in arts and culture, she enjoyed home renovation projects and making everything she touched so much better.

In addition to her husband, Ms. Harmon is also survived by her parents, Bob and Beth Harmon, of Litchfield; her brother, Kyle R. Harmon of St. Peters, MO; paternal grandmother, Margaret Harmon of Hillsboro; her four-legged daughter figure, “Pause the Cat”; “The Honors Girls” Biz, Adrienne, Tiffer and Meesa; and aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Carl and Joyce (Satterlee) Hermsmeyer; and paternal grandfather, William Harmon. 

Condolences may be left online at www.plummerfuneralservices.com.