Harry Lewis "Pa Pa" HARRIS

HARRIS, Deacon Harry Lewis "Pa Pa," was the oldest of four children, born on December 12, 1916, in Cuckoo, Va., to the late Lewis and Mary Cosby Harris. His three brothers, Fred, Johnnie and Walter, preceded him in death. His early education was obtained in Louisa County. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served faithfully and received numerous awards. After his departure from the military, he then worked for the Henrico County Highway Department for 28 years and then he retired from Louisa County Public Schools, where he worked as a custodian. He was united in holy matrimony to the love of his life, Dorothy Ophelia Cosby for 63 years. After many years of beating all odds of illness, God called him home for sweet rest on October 18, 2009. He leaves to cherish his loving memory a loving and devoted wife, Dorothy C. Harris; a cherished and loving daughter, Evangelist Gloria Yates; five grandchildren, Elder Cordell Yates (Devin), Ashburn, Va., Shonda Harris-Muhammed (Demetrius), Richmond, Va., Shelia Phillips (Tory), Chesterfield, Va., William Coleman (Denise), Chesapeake, Va, Clifford Ruffin (Cynthia), Alexandria, Va.; nine great-grandchildren, one niece and one nephew; a devoted goddaughter, Mariama Bamfield; and a host of relatives and friends. The family will receive friends on Friday evening in the Thomasson Watson Funeral Chapel from 6 to 7 p.m. Funeral services will be held at noon Saturday, October 24, 2009 at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 864 Pendleton Road, Mineral, Va. 23117, with Evangelist Gloria H. Yates officiating. Interment will follow at the church cemetery with military and Masonic rites accorded. Thomasson Watson Funeral Service, Inc., Louisa, is handling the arrangements. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.ddwatsonmortician.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.