Harris McILWAIN

1947 - 2021

McILWAIN MD, Harris Hugh 73, of Temple Terrace, Florida, passed away August 22, 2021, peacefully surrounded by family. Harris was born October 9, 1947, to Edward and Cordelia McIlwain in Miami, Florida. After graduating from Tampa's King High School in 1965, he went on to study medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was President of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He graduated in the top 10 of his class from Emory University Medical School and became Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Rheumatology and Geriatrics. During this time, he also married his high school sweetheart, Linda Fulghum, and together they raised seven children. After graduation, Harris started practice in Tampa, Florida, at Tampa Medical Group. Harris believed that we all are here for service to others. He felt passionate for all that he did in life, whether family, friends, patients and sports. He was a prolific writer, author and speaker and with Debra Fulghum Bruce, PhD, he wrote more than 26 health trade books. A strong advocate for patient education, he was a regular host on CNN's Arthritis Moment and traveled with Arthur Frommer and Debbie Reynolds across the U.S., teaching about Traveling With Arthritis and Preventing Osteoporosis. He was selected as a Sharecare Expert for Dr. Oz for his expertise. While managing his first practice, Harris was Medical Director at John Knox Village for more than 25 years and took breakfast to the nurses every Sunday morning. He and his two daughters, both rheumatologists, started McIlwain Medical Group in 2012. His family meant more to Harris than anything else in the world, something he often mentioned to his patients. He was unendingly proud of his children, Laura Cruse MD (Hugh), Kimberly Smith MD (Doug), Mike McIlwain DMD (Cristina), Virginia McIlwain, Lisa McIlwain, Daniel McIlwain and Tomas Espina. He loved his grandchildren more than life, Bennett, Mason and Rowan Cruse, Jackson, Holden and Tucker Smith, Ella, Grayson and Lucia McIlwain, Paul McIlwain and Zoe and Quinn Espina. Because of this passion for family, Harris was named Father of the Year by JC Penney for the Southeastern U.S. Harris was a year-round coach in Fast Pitch Softball, Baseball and Soccer. He was instrumental in founding Spirit Soccer in Temple Terrace and took a Spirit Soccer Team to the National Championships, returning a win for the first time for a team from the South in 1993. Harris coached teams for more than 30 years. He and his family took teams to Europe to play the youth professional teams many times. Also, he took teams all over the U.S. and Canada to play soccer. In his spare time, Harris was Official Team Doctor for the Tampa Bay Rowdies Soccer Team. Anyone who knew Harris saw that he was the most loving father and husband a family could ask for. Harris was predeceased by his brother, Robert McIlwain and is survived by his brother, James E. McIlwain DMD. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay in honor of his love for rescues. There are no plans for a memorial service at this time due to COVID.