August Watkins Harris

August Watkins Harris, Jr. of Austin, Texas, affectionately known as Watt by his many friends, passed away Friday, August 13, 2010, just shy of his 85th birthday. Watt was born August 22, 1925 in Austin.

He attended Matthews Elementary School, Austin High School and Oakwood High School in Dayton, Ohio, where he was on the state championship football team. At Oakwood, he was known to his friends as Tex. He later attended the University of Texas.

Watt was ceaselessly imaginative and creative. He was a talented architectural designer, cartographer, illustrator and inveterate sketch artist. While the latter two were perhaps his creative passions, he was also an obsessive statistician. For many years, he scored and charted Longhorn sports of every kind. Working on his own statistical summaries, he was constantly perplexed by the inaccurate reporting of the local paper, and didn’t fail to make a point of it. He was the public address announcer and statistician for the North Austin Lions Little League. Watt served on the vestry of St. David’s Episcopal Church, he was a past president of the Bachelors of Austin, and prior to retirement, was one of Austin’s longest tenured precinct judges.

After having enjoyed the life of a bachelor for many years, Watt married May Diane Miller of Austin in 1963. Watt was a devoted dad, sharing his love of creativity with his children. He was also a loving grandfather to his three grandchildren and a bright light to his siblings and many family members. Watt was charming and funny -- a natural born storyteller -- and loved the company of family and friends.

He was preceded in death by father and mother, August W. Harris and Loula Harris; his wife, May Diane Miller Harris; and his sister, Precious Gregg. He is survived by his brother, William Harris and his wife Marilyn of San Antonio; his sister, Eleanor Harris of Shreveport; his children, August W. “Happy” Harris III of Austin, and Banford Harris Weissmann and her husband, Arnie Weissmann, of New York City; his three grandchildren, Emma, Dashiell and Isaac Weissmann; and many nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held on Sunday, August 22, Watt’s 85th birthday, at 11 a.m. at the Oakwood Cemetery Annex.

Contributions may be made in Watt's memory to Texas School for the Deaf Foundation (www.tsdfoundation.org) or the Seton Fund (www.setonfund.org).