Edward Charles Harris

Edward Charles Harris of North Haven, CT, passed peacefully, surrounded by his family at Connecticut Hospice on January 15, 2025 while overlooking the sun and breeze rippling along Long Island Sound. He was born June 9, 1936 in St Louis, Missouri and is pre-deceased by his parents, Morris and Ruth Harris, and his sister Marcia Ann Harris. He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Vivian Shipley Harris and his five children, Eric Charles Jokl (Andrea Maulucci, fiancée), Todd Shipley Jokl (Paige Sampara), Matthew Taber Jokl (Elin Kristiansson), Edward Charles Harris Jr., and Jean Harris Sokora; and nine grandchildren, Eric Raymond Jokl, Nicholas Charles Jokl, Samuel Shipley Jokl, Hazel Rose Jokl, Isabella Anna Jokl, Chloe Vivian Jokl, Willow Harris Sokora, Rachel Lee Sokora, and Miriam Elizabeth Sokora. In St. Louis he founded the Harris Vinyl Products Corporation and established a national distributorship for U.S. Rubber Company vinyl-coated fabrics. Working between New York City and Los Angeles, he was an advertising executive for Norman, Craig and Kummel, and Interpublic. He then directed the gum and confections division of Philip Morris, USA before returning to pursue his PhD. Ed was awarded his BA from Columbia University (Phi Beta Kappa), attended Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, and earned his M.A, M.Phil, and PhD from Yale University (Political Science). He joined the Political Science faculty of Southern Connecticut State University in 1975 where he was active in faculty leadership as President of the AAUP Campus Chapter and rose to leadership positions including Dean of the School of Communication, Information and Library Science (1995-2010), and also served as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Acting Dean of the School of Business, Interim Director of Hilton C. Buley Library, and Interim CIO. He was named Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Political Science upon his retirement in 2010, in recognition of his distinguished career and service to SCSU and the state of Connecticut. Ed was active in the Harvard Business School Club of CT Community Partners program, served on the New Haven Free Public Library Foundation Board of Directors, the American Library Association Presidential Task Force, and the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Library. He relished an active social life with friends, his daily cover-to-cover read of the New York Times, enjoying afternoons with his family at their Morgan Point summer home, and watching his grandchildren pursue their various extracurricular interests in dance, theater, and athletics. A funeral service celebrating the life of Ed Harris will take place on Thursday morning, January 23rd, at North Haven Congregational Church (28 Church St) at 11:00 followed by a burial at Branford Center Cemetery (Montowese Avenue, Branford). A reception to celebrate Ed's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the New Haven Free Public Library Foundation (nhfpl.org) or Connecticut Poetry Society, 311 Shingle Hill Road, West Haven, CT 06516. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Edward, please visit our Tree Store.