Eric W. Harris

Infobox Person
name = Eric Wyckoff Harris, Sr.


image_size =
caption = Eric Wyckoff Harris
birth_date = birth date |1916|1|8
birth_place = Rapides Parish, Louisiana, USA
death_date = death date and age|2007|10|24|1916|1|8|
death_place = Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
occupation = Businessman; Founded first Jaycees chapter in Louisiana
religion= Methodist
spouse=Nelwyn Rhodes Harris (married 1941-his death)
children=Eric W. Harris, Jr.
Sandra Harris Kearney
Conni Harris Smith

Eric Wyckoff Harris, Sr. (January 8, 1916 - October 24, 2007), [http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index Interactive Search ] ] was an Alexandria businessman and civic leader who in 1939 headed the committee which organized the first Louisiana chapter of the Jaycees, or United States Junior Chamber. A builder and real estate developer, he was co-owner of Hill Harris & Company from 1936 until his death. [http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=Eric+Harris+of+Alexandria%2C+Louisiana&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-501&u=www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20071025/OBITUARIES/71024040/1023&w=eric+harris+alexandria+louisiana&d=DXlwkvH_Qa1y&icp=1&.intl=us Yahoo! Search Results for Eric Harris of Alexandria, Louisiana ] ]

Harris was born to Homer H. Harris, Sr. (1890-1971), and the former Arletta Cato (1888-1987) at Hard Times Plantation south of Alexandria. The family moved to Alexandria in 1921. He graduated from Bolton High School in Alexandria, attended Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College in Pineville for two years, and graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was a member of Sigma Chi social fraternity. During World War II, Harris volunteered in the United States Army Air Corps, the foreunner of the Air Force. He piloted B-29 bombers.

Harris was a member of the Alexandria-Pineville Chamber of Commerce and chaired its aviation committee. He also served for a decade on the Rapides Parish Aviation Authority, including two years a president. Harris was a director of the Central Cities Development Corporation and a former president of the Rapides Parish Industrial Development Board. He was past president of the Alexandria Lions Club and scored perfect attendance for sixty-three years. He was active in the Committee for a Better Alexandria and worked on the development of navigation projects on the Red River.

Harris died at his Alexandria residence. Survivors included his wife of sixty-six years, the former Nelwyn Rhodes of Alexandria; two daughters, and her husband, James Michael Kearney of Alexandria, and Conni Harris Smith of Lafayette, the widow of Hadley M. Smith (1940-1996); one son, Eric W. Harris, Jr. (born ca. 1942) of Moncks Corner, South Carolina; one brother, James C. Harris of Alexandria, and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by another brother, Homer Harris, Jr. (1910-1999).

Services were held on October 26, 2007, at First United Methodist Church in Alexandria, where he served on the building committee. Interment was in Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville.

References