STEVEN WAYNE HARRIS
Died Feb. 18, 2008
Retired USAF Major Steven Wayne Harris, an academic simulator instructor with Boeing in Goldsboro, N.C., passed away Monday from complications of heart disease. He was 62.
A native of Atlanta, Steve was an aviation enthusiast who began his 20-year active duty military career in 1968 at Mather AFB, where he attended navigation school and George AFB where he received additional flight training, both in California. He flew more than 3000 hours in F4s and more than 2000 flying sorties while on active duty including flying missions in Vietnam. During his Air Force career he had international assignments that took him to England, Thailand and the Philippines. His final military assignment was as Operations Officer at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. He retired with the rank of major.
After he retired from the Air Force, Steve joined McDonnell Douglas and served as a simulator instructor on the F-15E at Luke AFB in Arizona and, beginning in 1994, chief instructor on the F-15E at Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro.
Steve graduated from Emory University in Atlanta with a BA degree in biology.
While he was in pilot training at Randolph AFB in San Antonio, he met Pamela Nan LeGrand, daughter of an Air Force officer. After a whirlwind romance, they eloped and married in January 1969, while on the road back to his base in California. He was a loving husband and the beloved father of three children. He also was known as a big "Duke" basketball fan and a devoted fan of Valdosta High School "Wildcat" football.
Mr. Harris is survived by his wife, Pam; his children, Shannon Harris of Tampa, Fla., Kimberlee Donavant of Goldsboro, Todd Harris of Shreveport, La.; and grandchildren, Christian Glenn Donavant, age 9, Karah Elisabeth Donavant, age 5, Paige Ann Harris, age 3, and Abigail Nan Donavant, age 4 months. His survivors also include his parents, Joseph and Evelyn Harris; and sisters, Deborah Aames and Tonya Andrews, all of Atlanta, Ga.
A service to celebrate his life will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Dr. Penny Ziemer officiating. The family will receive friends following the service in McChesney Hall at First Presbyterian Church. Grave-side services with full military honors will be held Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Ga.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Duke University Children's Hos-pital, 512 S. Mangum St., Suite 400, Durham, N.C. 27701 or the Wayne County Humane Society, P.O. Box 821, Goldsboro, N.C. 27533 or the charity of one's choice.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on February 21, 2008 1:47 PM