Jesse Harris Obituary

HARRIS, Jesse Captain Jesse R. Harris, 92, USMC, Ret., husband of the late Ruth Norris Harris of Sullivan's Island, SC passed away Friday, September 12, 2008. The Memorial Service for Captain Harris will be in J. HENRY STUHR INC., MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL Monday, September 15, 2008 at 6:00 pm. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6:30 until 7:30 o'clock following the memorial service. Inurnment will be in Mt. Vernon, TN at a later date. Captain Harris was born January 9, 1916, in Mt. Vernon, TN, son of the late James Benton Harris and Maggie Roberts Harris. Jesse was a Captain in the US Marine Corps and spent most of WWII in the Pacific Theater, where he made five amphibious island invasions, including those of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. He served in the 2nd Marine Division under Commander David L. Shoup and was wounded in three separate battles. He convalesced at Pearl Harbor and received the Purple Heart. Captain Harris also served in the Korean War. After his discharge from the Corps, he entered the Civil Service and worked at the Charleston Naval Base until his retirement. He then performed volunteer work at the Charleston Naval Hospital for 20 years. Captain Harris remained forever devoted to the Corps. Jesse was a member of Hibben United Methodist Church, Mt. Pleasant, SC; 64-year member of Tellico Masonic Lodge #80, Madisonville, TN; charter member of the Knoxville Scottish Rite: member of Omar Shrine Temple, Mt. Pleasant, SC; past president of National Sojourners of Charleston, SC. Jesse had many hobbies, including politics, gardening, bee-keeping, canning preserves and cooking. His preserves were the award-winning best and he could actually make an edible sought-after fruit cake. He will be best remembered for his humor, kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity and keen memory, all of which he maintained to the last day. Jesse Harris was simply the best. Captain Harris was preceded in death by his wife and parents; sisters, Myrtle Rogers, Louise Harris and Eva Allen, and brothers, Earl W. and Kenneth Ivan Harris. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Lloyd Regier, Brevard, NC; son, Philip Harris, Charleston, SC; grandsons and wives, Jeff and Cynthia Earle, Mt. Pleasant, SC and Greg and Terri Earle, Evans, GA; great-grandsons, Jesse, Kevin, and Ted Earle; brother and sister-in-law, Travis and Jane Harris, Maryville, TN; his niece, Margie Cagle (Fred), and several other nieces, nephews, many friends and his kind caretaker, Betty Powell. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Greenville Shriners Children's Hospital, 950 West Faris Rd., Greenville, SC 29605. A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.