UPDATE: Dr. Harrop’s Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 11am in St. Joseph’s Church, Hope Street, Providence. Visitation will begin at 10am in the church. A luncheon celebrating his life will be held following Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Harrop’s memory may be made to the Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island or Vintage Pet Rescue.
WARWICK, RI (October 1, 2022) – It is with profound sadness that Fr. Robert L. Marciano, KHS ’75, President, shares with the Bishop Hendricken community the passing of alumnus and longtime supporter, Dr. Daniel Harrop ’72. Dr. Harrop passed away suddenly on Thursday, September 29, 2022.
After graduating as the Class of 1972’s salutatorian, Dr. Harrop attended Brown University where he earned his Bachelor’s in Biology/Medicine, and his MD from Brown Medical School. In 1983, Dr. Harrop began his own medical practice as a physician and psychiatrist. In 1985, he also began teaching as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Brown up until 2008. In 1997, Dr. Harrop earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University, and in 2014, earned the Republican Party nomination in the Providence Mayor’s race.
Dr. Harrop was a longtime and ardent benefactor of Bishop Hendricken. He was a key supporter of Bishop Hendricken’s arts and technology wing expansion in 2005, providing critical funding to make the theater — named in his father’s honor — possible. Dr. Harrop sponsored the Arts at Bishop Hendricken’s Harrop Medals which include scholarships awarded to exceptional students involved in the arts. Throughout his life, Dr. Harrop served as a President of the Alumni Board, Chairman of the Board of Directors (Advisors), as a member of Hendricken’s Development & Annual Fund Committees and Heart of Hendricken Society. Dr. Harrop’s support was — and continues to be — so critical that he was inducted into the Bishop Hendricken Hall of Fame.
“Dr. Dan Harrop was not only a good friend since our high school days, but also a great role model as a Hendricken man,” said Fr. Robert L. Marciano, KHS ’75, President. “Active in, and proud of, his Catholic faith, he dedicated his life and work to the healing of others as a physician and psychiatrist. His love of Hendricken surely showed in everything he has done for us. At this past year’s graduation dinner for our 1972 Golden Hawks on the occasion of their 50th anniversary, we toasted him and chatted about his retirement as he looked forward to his well-deserved life of rest and relaxation. He will be sorely missed by this Hendricken family, and we commend his good and kind soul to the God who was so very generous in sending him to us. May Dr. Harrop rest in peace.”
In addition to his support of Hendricken, Dr. Harrop was active in his community. He served as a leader of civic organizations like the Serra Club of Providence, the McVinney Foundation, Roosevelt Society, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the Rhode Island Historical Society. In 2008, he was knighted into the Church’s distinguished Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre by Pope Benedict XVI. He was also a Grand Knight in the Providence Knights of Columbus. Philanthropically, Dr. Harrop was one of the largest donors to the Diocese of Providence, and in 2021, was awarded the Lumen Gentium Award by the diocese. He also funded a major scholarship in his name for medical students at Brown.
Our deepest sympathies to Dr. Harrop’s siblings, Kevin ’73, Debra, and Susan; his nephew, Kevin ’06; and the entire Harrop family. Dr. Harrop will be remembered in the prayers of our Bishop Hendricken community now and in the days ahead. As information on his funeral arrangements and a celebration of his life become available, they will be shared.
May he rest in peace.
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Photo: PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS/MICHAEL SALERNO