Joseph G. Harris Jr.

Joseph G. Harris Jr. CHESAPEAKE - Joseph G. Harris Jr. passed away Oct. 7, 2010 at his residence. Born in Aurora, Ill., in 1929, he was the son of Joseph Gerald Sr. and Foy Allsbrook Harris. He was preceded in death by his sister, Betsy H. Owens. Joe was a member of the Boy Scouts Troop No. 1 in Norfolk. He earned his Eagle Scout Award in Harrisburg, Ill., where he lived for a few years following the death of his mother. Joe was a graduate of Maury High School and attended the Norfolk Division of William and Mary College, now Old Dominion University. He served in the U.S. Army's First Cavalry Division with the occupation forces in Japan at the end of World War II. Joe was a member and deacon of Grassfield Baptist Church. He was a former member and deacon of Woodland Heights Baptist Church for 26 years and remained a member of their Senior Group. Joe was a past president of the B. M. Williams Elementary School Parents/Teacher Association. He was a member of Doric No. 44 Masonic Lodge and was the worshipful master in 1983. He was also a member of the Great Bridge Masonic Lodge No. 257. He was a past member of the Chesapeake Kiwanis Club and a past lieutenant governor for the Kiwanis 21st District. Joe worked for Republic Creosoting Company until they closed, and Atlantic Wood Industries Inc. before retiring in 1997. Joe leaves his wife of 59 years, Barbara Beck Harris and their four children, Michael S. Harris and his wife Jackie of Creswell, N.C., Patricia H. Finch and her husband Wayne of Chesapeake, Phillip A. Harris and his wife Susan of Hertford, N.C., and Susan T. Harris of Virginia Beach; seven grandchildren, three stepgrandsons, and eight great-grandchildren; two sisters, Delores Warrens of Newbury Park, Calif., and Joan Hunter and her husband, C. P. of Jacksonville, Fla. The family will receive friends at Graham Funeral Home, Chesapeake, on Sunday, Oct. 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. A funeral will be conducted Monday, Oct. 11, at 11 a.m. at Woodland Heights Baptist Church, 529 Providence Road, Chesapeake, with Dr. Ken Barnes and Dr. Norman March. Burial will be private and will follow the service at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk. Please visit www.grahamfuneralhome.com and visit his "Book of Memories" to leave a note to the family.