Thomas V. "Tom" Harris

Thomas (Tom) V. Harris passed away on December 31, 2025 at age 74. He is survived

by his beloved wife, Diane Van Arsdale-Harris, and several nephews and cousins. He

was predeceased by his father, Van T. Harris; his mother, Claire L. Harris; and sisters

Mary Claire Harris Dixon and Carol Jean Harris Appenzellar. A 1973 graduate of the

College of William and Mary with a B.S. in Chemistry, Tom completed his Ph.D. in

Chemistry at Cornell University in 1978. After completing a Post Doctoral position at

Princeton University from 1978-1979, he worked as a Research Chemist at Gulf Oil in

Harmarville, PA from 1978-1985.

Tom married the love of his life in 1982 and they shared 43 years of a happy marriage.

They supported each other to have two parallel successful careers.

Tom and Diane headed to California in 1985, when Tom began his second career as a

Research Chemist at the Chevron Research Center in Richmond, CA, where he worked

from 1985 until he retired in 2013. His love of chemistry and his love of teamwork

brought him back to the Research Center several times as a consultant until March

2025.

Tom dedicated his career to the development and commercialization of novel

processes. Tom was especially proud of his work in developing a safer chemical

manufacturing process deployed in Normandy, France and a clean fuel manufacturing

process deployed in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In addition to his love of chemistry, Tom loved nature. He was an avid birder and

frequently participated in the annual Benicia Bird Count. He enjoyed hiking and being

out in nature. He lovingly planted a Native Plant garden on the hillside in our yard. He

and Diane loved taking trips to the Monterey Bay area as well as trips to Europe.

Tom will be remembered as a highly intelligent and kind man who always put others

before himself.