Charles McConnell Harris

Charles McConnell Harris died on June 22, 2025. On November 3, 1982, Carolyn and Ron Harris welcomed Charlie, the family’s only native Nashvillian. Carolyn guided his taste in books from day one. He spent a lot of his childhood on baseball fields, often coached by Ron. Many summers, he and his sisters visited grandparents in Clarksville, Arkansas, for peach-picking, creek-damming, and terrapin races. Charlie attended St. Paul and Montgomery Bell Academies, then graduated from Furman University with a B.A. in English in 2005. In his career as a writer, he started with food and restaurant writing at LocalEats before transitioning to the legal field. Most recently, he worked as a litigation paralegal at Spencer Fane LLP.

Charlie had the best taste: in food, in music, in books, in pop culture, and especially in relationships. One of the world’s more introverted extroverts, Charlie gathered a joyous community of friends who threw theme parties (“November Rain,” “Too Much,” “Work of Art”) and played team sports (the Sad Hams kickball squad). In 2010, he met Megan Minarich, then a Ph.D. candidate in English at Vanderbilt, who shared his way with words, his sense of humor, and his passion for really good costumes (Home Alone, Twin Peaks, Chicagoween). Megan and Charlie were married in 2014. In their decade of marriage, they travelled to Palm Springs and Hot Springs and Hawai`i, collecting tiki barware and curating their midcentury house in Madison. They brought home daughter Cornelia King Minarich in 2024. Charlie began guiding her taste in music from day one. He always did make the best mix CDs.

Charlie’s wit and insight sparkled whether he was writing for LocalsEats or just firing off a quippy text. He was inclined to satire, but not to cruelty. Every year, he and Megan workshopped some of the cleverest submissions ever published in the Nashville Scene’s “You Are So Nashville If” contest. Charlie Harris was cynical but sweet, smart but humble, funny but subtle. He had a wicked smile and expressive eyebrows. He created so much joy, and he leaves all of us wishing for more.

Charlie is survived by wife Megan L. Minarich, daughter Cornelia King Minarich, parents Ron and Carolyn Harris, sisters Sarah (Keith) Wallman and Susan (T.J.) Edwards, grandparents Geraldine Morgan and Eugene Harris, as well as nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins, and his community of friends.

Visitations for Charles will be held Friday, June 27, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Marshall- Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home, 201 25th Ave. North, Nashville, and Saturday, June 28, 2025 from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Ave. A funeral service will occur Saturday, June 28, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Flowers can be sent to Marshall-Donnelly-Combs. Donations can be made to the Nashville Adult Literacy Council or the American Cancer Society.