Harold L. Farris

Harold Farris left us on Saturday, July 17, 2021. He left this world a better place than he found it. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 22nd at 12:30PM at First United Methodist Church, with burial to follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorial donations be made to Christ’s Kitchen, First United Methodist Church or Crown Hospice.

Born August 1, 1930 in Huntsville, Texas to Emmett and Edna Farris, one of six children, he graduated from Huntsville High School and Sam Houston State University. He went on to serve his military obligation in the Texas National Guard from 1947 to 1957. He took great pride in his country. Once, while filing his tax return, he sealed a check in an envelope and remarked “Cheap rent on a great country!”

He first met Lois Hoffman in Glidden, Texas, in 1950. He was smitten. He made her his wife in November of 1952, even though she ran out the back door the first time he came calling. They had two children, Carlton and Karan.

A dutiful husband and father, he taught in high school for two years before moving on to work for the DuPont Chemical Co. for the next 38 years, where he became an Area Superintendent. He dispensed a lot of wisdom along the way. His catch phrase was “You betcha!” Can this be done? “You betcha?” Are you willing? “You betcha!” The one thing he would not do is offer personal advice. “I’ve made enough mistakes in my life,” he said. “Your job is to make your own and learn from them.” When his teenaged granddaughter showed up at Christmas sporting her new belly button ring, he just hugged her and said “Goodness gracious, I pay good money to get stuff like that taken out of me!” Unconditional acceptance was his specialty.

He was a great father, grandfather, neighbor, and friend. And, his friends were far and wide. When the Vietnam War ended, he helped sponsor two Vietnamese families who were refugees. He fed them, tutored them, and mentored them. When his neighbor suffered a disability, Harold mowed his yard. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, he drove from Texas to help rebuild houses. When his hearing failed, he donated hearing devices to his church for the hearing impaired, because no one should be denied a good sermon.

After 41 years of marriage, his wife Lois died from cancer. He remarried. The former Nancy Ellis taught him to snow ski in his mid-60’s, and they travelled the world: Europe, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, Africa and Australia. They rode donkeys up cliffs and nearly fell off one in a jeep. He lived life large and small.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Farris; son, Carlton (Deena) Farris and his daughter, Karan Crim (Craig), six grandchildren (Shaun, Amber, Tiffany, Patrick, Caitlin, and Jenna), five great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. In addition, he loved his step-children, Carol (Chris) Harvey and Reed Ellis, and his step-grandchildren (Crystal, Brandon, Cameron, and Carter).

He will be sorely missed, but his legacy of love, leadership, commitment, and his solid faith in God and Christ as his savior lives on in each of us. Will we see him, again? You betcha! We look faithfully forward to that.

Thoughts and memories may be shared at www.colonialfuneralhomevictoria.com.