Dwight Harris

Dwight Harris, recently of Florence, passed away in Elsmere, KY, on February 7, 2026 at the age of 103. He was born in Chicago on July 25, 1922, to Paul Upham Harris and Ethelyn Evelyn (Grattan) Harris. He grew up in Massachusetts with his siblings David, Everette, Jean, Ruth (Kay) and Janne. After receiving a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Technological Institute in 1944, he worked as a product designer at Bendix, Skinner Valve, Winchester Electronics, and Lux Clock.

He was a prolific inventor with designs such as a two-hundred pound valve used to control the flow of liquid oxygen for rocket testing, and a miniature fan for cooling the Atlas rocket guidance system. He married Catherine (Kaye) Marie Corliss of Norwalk, CT in 1953, and they had three children.

He moved to Woodstock, NY in 1961 to work at Rotron, Inc., where he designed a unique suction blower for IBM mainframe computers used throughout the world. He was a registered Professional Engineer, and was awarded seventeen patents as well as numerous national awards for excellence in design.

Retiring in 1985, his primary hobby was ham radio, which enabled him to talk to other hams in many countries. His Extra Class rating included the privilege of communicating with the space station.

Dwight and Kaye moved to senior living in Saugerties, NY in 2011, and after her death in 2015 Dwight moved to Catskill, NY to be near his son Don. He moved to Florence, KY in 2023 to be near his daughter Sue until his passing. He is survived by his sister Janne (Pete) Petersen of Niantic, CT; his children Don Harris, Sue Kozlowski, and Nancy Cusack; his grandchildren Paul (Melissa) Kozlowski, Cecilia Kozlowski, Brendan Cusack, and Jason Cusack; and his great-grandchild Jack Kozlowski. Per his request, there will be no funeral or memorial service. Memorial donations may be made to Abraham's Pantry, abrahamspantry.org.