Services held Dec. 28 for Harley Hitchcock, retired TPA periodicals consultant

AUSTIN – Retired TPA periodicals consultant Harley Hitchcock, 84, died Dec. 19.
A former U.S. Postal Service employee, Hitchcock spent more than a decade putting his intimate knowledge and understanding of postal issues to work for Texas newspapers, taking the guesswork out of the postal delivery process and saving publishers countless dollars in mailing costs. He retired from TPA in 2012.
A native of Buchanan Dam, Hitchcock grew up in Austin. He joined the Postal Service after a 20-year career in the U.S. Air Force, returning home to Austin in 1974. His retirement rank was Master sergeant.
In his 24 years with the Postal Service, Hitchcock started as a clerk and worked his way up to mail classifications specialist, a position he held for about 12 years, until his retirement. Hitchcock helped develop and implement auditing techniques via a Postal Service program called the Austin Project that came to be used nationwide. Later, as a consultant for TPA, he used his expertise to visit newspapers across the state and audit their postal delivery processes, helping them avoid costly mistakes. He was known as an ambassador for TPA for his travels across the state visiting with newspaper staffs and asking how he could help.
He became one of the Texas newspaper industry’s biggest advocates, championing mailers’ rights and encouraging newspapers to report mishandling of periodicals mailings.
At the 2012 Midwinter Conference, he was presented was with a lifetime TPA membership in recognition of his service and friendship to the association.
Preceded in death by his parents and a son, he is survived by his wife Lynda Gayle Hitchcock, two children, three grandchildren and other relatives.
Services were held Dec. 28 at Decker United Methodist Church Cemetery in Austin.