Gregory "Greg" Thomas Harris

Greg was born on April 3, 1947, in Kansas City, Kansas to Emilia (Scigliano) and A.T. Harris. He graduated from Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Missouri in 1965.

Greg married the love of his life, Marilyn K. Keeton on May 29th, 1973, and they had one child, Jason C. Harris. Greg and Marilyn were married for 45 years. His family remembers Greg as a dedicated and inspirational father. He was excited and extremely happy when he became a parent and was always very supportive of his family.

He was an accomplished musician that was a founding member of the Kansas City Band, Morningstar and released 2 albums nationally and was honored in 2012 to be inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. He started a music equipment repair shop in KC also building speakers and lighting systems for bands. His attitude was always positive which was helpful especially during any challenging times.

Greg attended the University of Missouri - Kansas City majoring in Pharmacology. It was during this time that an extreme interest in computers developed, eventually having several articles published nationally. Greg had over 30 years of work experience in the healthcare and technology industries.

Greg began his career at Continental Healthcare Systems in 1980 and served as the Director of Integration and Technical Services for 16 years. In 1996, Greg joined Symbol Technologies as a Senior Project Manager and Senior Systems Analyst, specializing in the healthcare vertical. In 2007 and after six years at Symbol Technologies, Gregory transitioned to Vocera Communications, where he worked as a Senior Application Engineer in Business Development. Greg has a strong background in integrating technical systems and has extensive experience in project management and business development. He developed product integration systems for healthcare, hospitality, and retail and worked on the set of Grey’s Anatomy and The Mob Doctor, NASA, and traveled the world installing these call systems.

While undergoing treatment he still got to experience what he loved. He traveled to Monterey Car Week and Eagle Canyons Raceway in Texas. He attended two track events at the Grand Prix Revival at Lake Garnett, Kansas and the St Pete Grand Prix. He continued to work remotely for Vocera and was one of the owners of The Crestwood Shops in Kansas City, Missouri.

Through it all he maintained a positive attitude and embraced what each day brought, joking with the hospital staff even in his final days. When asked if he knew what was happening during a recent EKG procedure, he first pretended not to (with a twinkle in his eye, I’m sure), but then proceeded to explain the technical details of just how an EKG works. Everyone that knew Greg was touched in some way by this real-life rock star (and vintage race car driver, among so many other things) who lived with tremendous courage, kindness, integrity, humility, and humor. I hope his gifts continue to be a reminder to us all about how to live.

Gregory is survived by his son, Jason Harris of St. Petersburg, Florida; his grandson, Tommaso Harris; his brothers, Michael Harris of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida and Roger Harris of Placida, Florida.

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for 1-3 PM; Friday, January 19th White Chapel Funeral Home (6600 NE Antioch Road Gladstone, Missouri 64119).

All are welcome to attend and celebrate Gregory Harris's life.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the charity of your choice.

The Harris family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and all the staff who cared for Gregory at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St Louis, Missouri, Moffitt Cancer Center, Florida, and St. Anthony’s Hospital in St Petersburg Florida.