William "Bill" E. Harris

Master Sargent William “Bill” E. Harris USAF Retired, 89, passed away on Thursday, April 2, 2020 in the Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula, MS after a lengthy illness following complications after heart surgery on December 19, 2019. God has brought him home. Bill was born in Texarkana, AR on September 21, 1930 to Ewell Lee Harris and Annie Gilmore Harris. He married the love of his life, Janice Fowler of Biloxi, MS on September 17, 1955 and they shared 64 years developing a strong and lasting friendship with one another. Not bad for a man who thought of himself as a confirmed bachelor. He was preceded in death by his parents, his step-mother, Vera Taylor Harris; brother, Robert Lee Harris Sr; and nephew Robert Lee Harris Jr. He is survived by his wife, Janice; daughter, Karen (Bill) Van Hom of Gautier, MS; son, Michael (Linda) Harris of CT; and daughter, Katrina Smith of VA. He is also survived by five grandchildren in the Smith family; half-brother, Don Harris of Texarkana, TX; half-sister, Wanda Harris Urrey of DeQueen, AR; and many nieces and nephews. Bill joined the Army Air Corp and later the Air Force, where he retired after 20 years of service to begin a civilian career in the computer industry. He was first hired by Honeywell Computers in Newton, MA where he trained as a field engineer. After graduation as an engineer, he was asked to remain at Honeywell headquarters to train other field engineers based on his background in the Air Force as an airborne electronics instructor. He wrote the first computer-assisted manuals for Honeywell. That experience led Bill to end his career as the Director of a new pilot program at Keesler AFB in the early 1990's to teach Basic Electronics using an instructor and the computer. Between those two jobs, Bill worked in sales selling large scale computer systems to the Canadian government. Bill and his family were fortunate in his military and civilian careers to live in many different places around the world. He always believed this enriched all their lives with those experiences but it came with it's challenges. Besides living in many states in the US, they also lived in France and in Canada. Bill and his wife spent 15 years living in Canada. As southerners they adapted to the Canadian winters quite well and thoroughly enjoyed their time there as did their children. After their children were grown and left home to pursue their own lives, Bill and his wife enjoyed doing a lot of things together including playing tennis, golf, bridge and while in Canada, skiing. After his retirement from Civil Service at Keesler, he and his wife sold their home, bought a motor home and traveled full time for a couple years before settling in Happy Trails RV Resort in Surprise, AZ. They were both very active at the resort. While there, they spent three months of the summer at Utah State University in Logan, UT as part of the Summer Senior Citizen Program from 1998 to 2002. Because of Bill's active lifestyle, he was able to live a healthy life into his golden years. Bill was very serious about his nutrition, exercise and everything in moderation. In Canada, even in winter, he would go for a run before going to work. In the later part of his working career at Keesler while in his early 60's, he would run on the track near the hospital at lunch time. Bill loved reading and studying new things his whole life so in many ways he was self-educated. If he found someone of similar interests (which didn't happen often) he loved to discuss philosophy, politics and religion. His mind was very important to him and he preferred to discuss issues not small talk. Prior to his last surgery, Bill enjoyed a few months of living and meeting people at Lighthouse Assisted Living in Ocean Springs, MS where he and his wife shared an apartment. He always had a very quiet and reserved personality until he moved to the Lighthouse where his true personality blossomed. He had such an independent nature about himself but in the end, he finally listened to his wife and enjoyed the fellowship of friends. His smile and kind words were evident every day even when illness was taking its toll on him. His goal was to return to the Lighthouse but that wasn't to be. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. The family would like to thank all the people at the Ocean Springs and Singing River Hospitals who worked so hard to bring Bill back after his heart stopped for 30 minutes on December 19, 2019 and the following three and a half plus months helping him regain his strength in intensive care, post cardiac unit and skilled nursing facility. He was told most 89 year-old men could never have survived what he did in the beginning (the medical staff at Ocean Springs Hospital thought of him as a miracle to have survived) and in the end he couldn't. He persevered valiantly to try to recover. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to be made in his memory to the COVID-19 Relief Program with the Salvation Army, 2019 22nd Street, Gulfport, MS 39501. Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Porter Avenue in Ocean Springs, is honored to serve this family.