Richard Harris

Richard, or Dick as those that knew him called him, loved to travel. He also loved to complain about traveling. He travelled internationally, seeing many of the great sites of Europe. Domestically, he journeyed across North America in a motorhome affectionately known as the Big Mo. He was a mechanically-inclined man, always repairing something; cars, electronics, houses, you name it. He didn’t know how to swim, but that didn’t stop him from repairing a pool once. He just needed his wife to hold him down underwater while he worked.

Dick was an avid photographer. He chronicled much of his life on film. But where his talent truly shone was in his floral photography. The vivid glory of petals, the gentle visitations of bees and butterflies, he captured them so well.

He was also a deeply silly man. He would frequently rely on his own idiosyncratic, polyglot language of words borrowed, pillaged, and made-up, heavily seasoned with Yiddish.

He enjoyed watching horror and sci-fi movies. As a child, when his parents asked him if he wanted to see a movie, his reply was “how many murders are in it?” He would go on to introduce his children to horror movies at an impressionable young age. But they turned out pretty well nonetheless.

What did he do for a living? He was a social worker, administrating multiple agencies throughout his life. He helped countless troubled children seek better lives, leading through kindness. Grand St. Settlement of New York, the Jewish Child Care Association of New York, the George Junior Republic of Freeville, and the Children’s Home of York, these were just a few of the places he worked at.

If you can take anything from the life of Richard Harris, it’s don’t be afraid to be excessively silly. Enjoy the sweet things in life (Dick loved Mallomars, M&Ms, but also inexplicably Necco Wafers). Listen to music that gets your feet tapping (He loved show tunes, Dean Martin, Klezmer, and John Denver). And that it’s good to travel, even if you sometimes prefer the comforts of home.

Dick, husband, father, father-in-law, brother, you will be missed and remembered.