James William Harris

James William Harris peacefully passed to the next life leaving behind his wife, Ruth, three children and their spouses, Janis Morris (Mark) of Poway, California, Peggy Harris (Sandi) of Phoenix, Arizona and Jim Harris (Michele) of Houston, Texas, twelve grandchildren, and twenty great grandchildren. At the age of ninety-one, he lived a long, purposeful life and will be greatly missed by family and friends.

The son of Nathaniel Harris and Elizabeth Josephine Whelan Harris, he was born in Evanston, Illinois. However, due to difficult family circumstances, Jim grew up near Chicago in Angel Guardian orphanage from age five to eighteen. At the orphanage Jim first met Ruth, who would become his second wife later in life. After graduation, their paths diverged and he went to Riverside, California where he lived with Ben and Mildred Whelan, his uncle and aunt (who were like second parents). Jim attended Riverside Community College and at age 21 joined the U.S. Navy. It was during flight school in Pensacola, Florida that Jim met Eulala (Lolly). Lolly and Jim were married November 27, 1952 on a Thanksgiving Day. After moving coast to coast many times and several deployments at sea, in 1969 he was restationed near Riverside where their three children grew to adulthood. Jim eventually retired in 1974 after 24 years of Navy service. Jim went back to school at USC to obtain a master’s degree in safety engineering and started his second career with Aetna Life and Casualty. As a safety consultant his assigned territory included Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, Las Vegas, and other parts of southern Nevada. After 15 years consulting in the insurance industry, Jim retired in 1998.

Jim and Lolly resided in Riverside for over 40 years. In 1982 they purchased a newly constructed home in Canyon Crest which they enjoyed landscaping and decorating. Jim loved golfing with buddies, daily walking his beloved dog Candy, spending time with children and grandchildren, exercise, and traveling. After 57 years of marriage, Lolly succumbed to a long illness and died in 2009. Two years later, Jim attended an Angel Guardian Reunion in Chicago. Fate had it that he got reacquainted with Ruth Flanagan Schmidt, a girl he had taken notice of back in his orphanage days. She was also widowed and after some correspondence and a few trips between Ohio and California, they were happily married at the age of 84 years on November 23, 2013. Their sweet companionship was evident to all as they did some traveling, including several cruises and socialized with dear Riverside friends. In 2017, Jim and Ruth moved to Anthem, Arizona to reside in a Merrill Gardens assisted living community. During the past few years of aging, they enjoyed the senior activities, classes and outings offered, the extra help, prepared meals, and meeting new friends.

Jim was highly organized, and both carefully planned and executed those plans through each stage of his life. He was also a devoted husband, proud parent, loving grandpa, hard-worker, health enthusiast, avid learner, and a person with a keen sense of humor and extremely high integrity. He left a fine legacy for future generations to emulate and we love him very much.

Jim will be interred at the Riverside National Cemetery after a private family celebration of life.