Lawrence Earl Harris was born to William Earl Harris and his second wife, Martha (Johnson), in Mason City, Iowa, on April 22, 1928. Larry was the fourth of five children born to William. Larry's brothers and sisters were Myrtle Marie (Everhart), Warren Glenn, Fredrick Arthur and Ella Mae (Carberry).
Larry was born and raised in and around the Mason City area. His father, who went by the name Earl, farmed just south of Mason City until he died of heart failure when Larry was 14. Larry continued to farm for a couple of years thereafter with relatives. When he was 16, Larry was hired by the Milwaukee Railroad from which he retired in 1984 in Aberdeen, S.D.
Larry married Betty Jane Cogill, daughter of Benjamin Leroy and Christina Cogill, on Sept. 8, 1946. Betty and Larry have three children: Barbara Jean Poindexter of Carrollton, Ga.; Linda Sue Harris of Carrollton, Ga.; and William Earl Harris and his wife, Debra Ann, of Glendale, Ariz. In 1954, the Milwaukee RR transferred Larry and his family to Austin, Minn., where they remained until 1969, when he was transferred again, to Aberdeen, S.D. Larry's wife of 65 years passed away on May 6, 2011, from cancer.
Larry is survived by his three children: Barbara, Linda and Bill; three grandchildren, Davin Leslie Auble of Boston, Mass., William Earl Junior and wife, Nicole Marie, of Marietta, Ga., and Christina Kay Steinke and husband, Craig, of Buckeye, Ariz.; and four great-grandchildren, Naomi Marie Dean, Dylan Nicole Harris, William Easton Harris and Jack Edward Steinke.
In 1973, Larry and Betty became empty nesters with retirement from the railroad following 10 years after. Larry enjoyed over 25 years of retirement life with Betty, bowling, fishing, crafting, playing cards and traveling all over the USA in their RV. In 2009, they gave up their RV life and settled in at Youngtown, Ariz.
Daddy passed from our hands on April 29, 2013, at Hospice of Arizona in Sun City West, Ariz. It was his desire not to have a memorial and to be cremated.