Harry Paul Wertheimer

Harry P. Wertheimer, a retired mechanical engineer, was a bonafide renaissance man who loved music, skiing, tennis and debating the merits of ethanol-free gas. He died on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, at the Barclay in Clemson.

Born in Chicago, IL, Mr. Wertheimer was the son of the late Harry and Edith Wertheimer. He met his late wife, Dorothy Kagan Wertheimer, when he was a student at MIT in Boston and she was studying at nearby Simmons College. But their marriage almost did not happen because of his obsession with his 1953 red MG. As he wrote in a letter to his grandson, he became upset when Dorothy stepped on the running boards with her high heels. They broke up for three months, but he apologized and she agreed to marry him.

Raising three children, they lived in suburban Chicago; Horseheads, N.Y.; Findlay, Ohio; Painted Post, N.Y.; and finally, Keowee Key in Salem, SC. Mr. Wertheimer was an award-winning engineer at Bendix, Autolite and Dresser Rand, working nearly 45 years and winning 13 patents. He retired in 2002 and was active in volunteering, serving on the Keowee Key Property Owner Association Board, delivering meals to seniors, and teaching driving safety.

He was passionate about cars, like his hobbies in tennis, water skiing, snow skiing, kayaking, and biking. He also written a column about knots and lobbied for ethanol-free fuel.

He is survived by his son Steven Wertheimer, daughter Linda Wertheimer Mintz, sister Helen Hubler, grandson Simon Mintz, three nieces, a nephew, seven great-nieces/nephews, and Linda Newmark, his recent partner. He was predeceased by his wife of 60 years and his son Kevin Lee Wertheimer.