I had the good fortune of interviewing Harry Hilliard last month for a story about the renovation of the old Balfour Dock building on Tacoma's waterfront.

Hilliard, known to most of his friends simply as Harry "The Horse," died in his sleep two weeks later at age 88.

I spoke with Harry because he once worked at the Balfour building, before it fell into disrepair. He was happy to see it's re-birth.

Standing beside his friend Ron Magden on the esplanade outside, Harry described what it was like working on the docks in the days before the "containerization" of the port.

And he gave me a brief version of his life story, which included being orphaned at age 5, and surviving the bombing of a ship he worked on during World War II. (He was in a London pub at the time of the attack.)

His obituary, published in today's paper, offers more details of his colorful life.

I was surprised and honored to read this:

On June 21, 2008 The News Tribune featured Harry on page 1. Harry was very proud of that article. In fact he considered it the summation of his life.

I wish now that I had the chance to talk more with Harry. But I'm pleased that I had the opportunity to meet him even for a brief time. He gave me a glimpse into Tacoma's history -- and the life of a remarkable man.