Richard Milton Harris Sr., 93, of Annville, passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, at Lebanon Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Mary Louise “Sukey” (Meyer) Harris. Dick and Sukey met in the Penn State Concert Blue Band. He was the timpanist, and she was the first flutist.
Born in Johnstown, PA, on May 11, 1932, he was the son of the late Donald Roswell and Leora Ann (Long) Harris. Dick volunteered in the Army as a surveyor in the Philippines, Formosa, and the West Coast of the U.S. – 29th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He took his family, including his grandparents, on six-week camping trips across the entire country – twice – before the internet. He was an instrument-rated pilot, and with Sukey as wingman, they journeyed the sky, and later, using his flight simulator, he continued his travels. Additionally, Dick was the lead tip drummer and manager of The Quittapahilla Highlanders.
Dick worked in the rod and wire mill at the Gautier Works in Johnstown, then as a technical assistant in the metallurgical lab at the Lebanon plant. Through the years, he was promoted to general manager of the Lebanon plant and finally division general manager of Bethlehem Operations in Lebanon, Chicago, Birmingham, and Seattle.
Dick was a member of many technical committees and boards, including the American Society for Metals, the American Society for Quality Control, the American Petroleum Institute, the Research Council for Riveted and Bolted Structural Joints, the American National Standards Institute, the American Society for Testing and Materials, the Annville-Cleona School Board, the Lebanon County Area Vocational Technical School Operation Committee, the Annville Township Authority, and the Annville-Cleona Joint School Authority. Dick was also the construction chairman of the Good Samaritan Hospital Auxiliary Street Fair, the past president of the Annville Rotary Club, and the founding assistant and member of the PA Guild of Papercutters.
Surviving are his children, Richard M. Harris Jr., husband of Dr. Elizabeth Weiss Harris, of Annville, Elizabeth L. Harris, of North Scituate, Rhode Island, Jennifer A. Harris, of Annville, and Rebecca J. DeMarchis, wife of Raymond, of Enola; seven grandchildren; and one step-grandchild. In addition to his wife, Dick was preceded in death by his brother, Dr. Donald Roswell Harris Jr.
A graveside service will be held at the Mount Annville Cemetery on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, at 1 p.m. The family would like to thank Columbia Cottage and Lebanon Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for their exceptional care. Dear friends of Dick and Sukey Harris, they are together again. Kreamer Funeral Home, Annville, is handling arrangements.
