Donald George Harris, age 96, passed away on July 25, 2020 at the Crystal Coast Hospice House in Newport, NC. Born on December 20, 1923 to Samuel G. Harris and Elsie G. (Deuel) Harris, Don grew up in Jersey City, NJ, attending Dickinson High School where he was class president his senior year.
Don served in the Marine Corps in the Pacific during WWII, one of only a few Marines who survived 5 island landing campaigns, including Iwo Jima. He received a Letter of Commendation from General Cates, Commanding Officer of the 4th Division, for his service on Saipan. The details of his service were of such interest that an article about it appeared in Leatherneck Magazine.
Following his return from the war, he married Rachel Agnes Albert in 1946 and attended Springfield College, receiving a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s in Guidance and Personnel Management.
He was very involved in systems work in the late 1950s and was a member of the subcommittee of the American Standards Association that created ASCII. He became involved in the plastics industry in 1963. A series of mergers led to Don working in plastic raw material sales and sales management with ARCO Polymers, a subsidiary of AtlanticRichfield. He retired from ARCO in 1982 and continued in plastic sales with Rapid Industrial Plastics for another decade and a half.
Don lived in Ringwood, NJ for 38 years, where he was actively involved in community betterment and preservation, serving as President of the Cupsaw Lake Improvement Association. There he was able to pursue his passions for sailing, golf, ice skating, home improvement, gardening and birding, many of which he continued, following his move to New Bern, NC. He loved hiking and spent a great deal of time exploring, with his kids, Ringwood State Park and the adjoining New Jersey Botanical Garden. He seemed to know everyone in town, because he was involved in so many aspects of community life, such as being in charge of the lifeguards at Cupsaw Lake and winning many of the Sunday morning sailing races; there are still Don Harris stories circulating. As his youngest daughter said, “He was just such an incredibly interesting and well-liked man”, a sentiment shared by his stepdaughter and many friends and neighbors.
Don was predeceased by his parents, his older sister Grace, his younger brothers Roger and Alan and his oldest daughter, Patricia Watts (Phillip). Don is survived by his current wife, Mary Beth Christian, five children: Donald Harris Jr. of Guilford, NH; David (Grace) Harris of Virginia Beach, VA; Kathryn Harris of Belfast, ME; Michael (Laura) Harris of Waterford, CT and Barbara (Jeff Strube) Harris of Buckland, MA; a stepdaughter Kathleen Monroe of San Francisco, CA and 11 grandchildren and 4 greatgrandchildren.
Due to the pandemic, there will be no funeral services, although his cremains will be committed to the sea as he wished, in a full burial at sea service aboard a deployed Navy ship.
Memorial donations may be made to the Semper Fi Fund online at TheFund.org or mailed to 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, PMB 69, Oceanside, CA 92057.
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