Joseph Solomon Harris

Joseph S. Harris passed away on April 20, 2019 at home peacefully in his sleep at the age of 91. He was born in Memphis, TN on December 31, 1927, the son of Mary Weiss and Jack Harris. He grew up in New Orleans and graduated Fortier High School on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). He was president of his senior class and editor of the yearbook.

He started college at Texas A&M studying Civil Engineering. After two semesters, he volunteered for the U.S. Navy in January of 1945, having just turned 17 years of age, and served for 19 months. Upon his discharge, he resumed his studies at Tulane University and joined Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity where he and his longtime friend Alvin Binder played in a legendary football game with the ZBTs, ultimately prevailing and leaving many opposing players in need of medical attention.

In January of 1949, he took a job with Shelby Construction of New Orleans. During that employment he was Project Manager on numerous construction projects throughout the country including St. Louis, Nashville, Philadelphia, Montgomery, Memphis and Norfolk, Va.. Locally, he would go on to build Mart 51 Shopping Center on Terry Road and Highway 80, Maywood Mart on Northside Drive and countless houses in and around Jackson. While in Jackson, he courted and married a Corolla Beauty attending the University of Alabama named Maxine Millstein and their union flourished for over 60 years until her passing on July 31, 2011.

Settling in Jackson, he established J.S. Harris, Inc. General Contractors, Modern Seamless Floors, Inc., had a successful window tinting business with 3M and with others he partnered to form Kwik Roof, Inc., United Builders Supply, Chemical Systems Corp and BERJ. After 60 productive years in business, he retired somewhat although he remained quite active in volunteer work at St. Dominic Hospital where he was known for his ability to find wheelchairs for the use of needy patients.

Harris was a 64 year member of Beth Israel serving in every capacity including President of the Congregation. He taught Hebrew and Jewish history and oversaw the growth and upkeep of the Beth Israel Cemetery for decades. As a member of the building committee, he oversaw construction of the Old Canton Road Synagogue in 1967. He joined the North Jackson Rotary Club in 1972, is a Paul Harris Fellow and a Benefactor and Major Donor of the Rotary Foundation. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Foundation and in 2015, he was honored and named the 1st ‘ Rotarian of the Year’ of the North Jackson club. His commitment to Rotary manifested itself in his perfect attendance record as he attended a Rotary Club meeting, somewhere in the world, once a week, every week, for 47 straight years. He is also a 64 year member of the American Legion, Post #1.

Joe served the City of Jackson for 20 years as Vice-Chairman of the Jackson Housing Authority and was President of the Home Builders Association of Jackson and a National Director of the National Association for many years. He was for 5 years the Commissioner of the Cherokee Little League on Lakeland Drive in the 60s and 70s working with the boys and parents of northeast Jackson, often filling in as umpire on hot July nights on those occasions when others could not show up. He was an original member of the River Hills Club where he enjoyed weekly tennis with his cohorts, children and eventually grandchildren. He was a member of the Building Committee which oversaw construction of the first clubhouse.

In addition to his wife, he was also predeceased by his parents, his sister Rosamond H. Sigal and his brother, David J. Harris, both of Atlanta.

He is survived by four children, Anne Dee Tucker of Maplewood, NJ, Dr. Jack Harris II (Laura) of Brentwood, Tn, Maury Harris (Kiri) of Abingdon, Pa and Randy Harris of Jackson. He is also survived by 9 grandchildren ( 7 bloods and 2 no-bloods)- Zachary and Jason Tucker, Hannah Harris, Joseph ‘Drew’ Harris, Matthew Harris, Sylvie and Eli Harris, Amy Vanderhoof and Brooke Greenspan. He is also survived by his sister, Doris Goldstein (Martin) of Atlanta, Ga.

Visitation will be held at Beth Israel Synagogue from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 25, 2019 with a service to follow in the sanctuary. This will be immediately followed by internment in the Beth Israel Cemetery in Jackson.

Please omit flowers. In lieu, donations to Beth Israel Cemetery Fund, 5315 Old Canton Road, Jackson, Ms 39211 would be most appreciated or to your favorite charity.