Harold Vanorse

ROCKPORT -- The man, the myth, the legend, Harold L. Vanorse, passed away unexpectedly at home, with his wife Susan at his side, on June 20, 2026.
Despite being just 73 years young, Harold lived a life full to the brim.
Born Dec. 27, 1952, to Bert Sr. and Pearle Vanorse, Harold was educated locally, graduating from Rockland District High School in 1971.
In his adult life, he drove semi-trailer trucks for a few years and worked as a certified welder in Virginia and New Jersey, working on oil storage tanks before returning home and starting his own business with Susan, Harold's Auto Body. It was in his shop that he was able to pour his skill and appreciation of automobiles into every vehicle he restored and worked on, right up until his passing.
He married Susan DiNapoli in March 1978, and after settling to build a life together in Rockport, they welcomed three daughters, Nicole, Holly and Margaret.
Summers were go-karting, mini golf, IHRA or NASCAR races, night swimming in the pool, and once, a bedroom window may have been sacrificed to a game of baseball on the front lawn. Winter was going out to breakfast before the hunt for the perfect Christmas trees and making snow sculptures so big on the front lawn that they found their way into the newspaper.
While the kids were still young, there was never a night that one of them wasn't present next to his chair to watch a basketball game, baseball, or a hockey match. As adults, Sunday dinners were often preceded by a similar sight. And when the kids played a sport growing up, he was always there.
Each of his girls has inherited a piece of him. The youngest, Margaret, followed in the Vanorse footsteps, pulling up a stool to work at Bert's. The oldest, Nicole, carried Harold's creativity into a design career. Holly, the middle, moved from watching sports next to Harold's chair, to sports journalism. And they all have a healthy appreciation for a spotless car, and a meticulously mowed lawn.
In the 1980s, Harold stepped in to help his father at Bert's Machine Shop.
Much like his father, Harold always had a story to share. Sometimes it was of how the neighborhood around Bayview Square used to be or the old stores of the area. Others, it was more about who once had certain cars, who had raced whom.
A man about cars, Harold was certainly a character in many of his own stories. Most who knew him also knew him for his 1970 SS Chevelle that once sported the license plate SKUNK. Later, many could recall the times they would see him, Susan, and their yellow lab, Simon, with his dog goggles on as they went for rides around town in Harold's 1967 Jeepster Truck.
For several years, Harold was a substitute teacher at the Mid-Coast School of Technology in the automotive and small-engine classrooms. He was never too busy to pass along his knowledge to those who were interested.
In 2011, Harold took the helm of Bert's Machine Shop, where he was still working alongside Margaret and son-in-law Roger at the time of his passing.
Family was everything to Harold, and if you weren't related to him, he made you feel like you were.
Harold was predeceased by his parents, brothers Milton and Wayne, and sister Susan.
He is survived by Susan, his wife of 48 years; daughters Nicole and partner Roger Jones, Holly and husband Justin Spicer, and Margaret and partner Michael Knowlton; grandchildren Oliver and partner Willow Throckmorton, Carter, and Theodore. He is also survived by sisters Pearle Seekins, Nancy and husband Frank Chandler, Sonja and husband Charles Neiman; brothers Bert Jr. and wife Sharon Vanorse, and Robert Vanorse; as well as several nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, July 16, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home in Rockland.
Those who would like to share a memory or condolences with Harold's family may do so on his Book of Memories at bchfh.com.
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