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EARL FREDERICK HARRIS
Born: May 20, 1927
Date of Passing: Nov 05, 2023
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or MemoryEARL FREDERICK HARRIS
On Sunday, November 5, 2023, after a short illness, Earl passed away at Grace Hospice. Earl was predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Gladys, in 2003.
Earl and Gladys are survived by daughters, Louise Bloomfield (Les), Terry Harris (Ken Carnegie), grandchildren, Jenna Anhill (Dave), Jeff Rempel, Marli Sakiyama (Kirk) and Kevin Sakiyama, great-grandchildren, Darci, Parker, Kishio and Hiroko. Earl was predeceased by his two brothers, Stan and Bill, and is survived by his youngest brother, Ron.
Earl and Gladys had special and close relationships with many nieces and nephews. Earl’s brother’s children, were very close and loved, Kirk, Kevin, Kent, Shawna, and Gary and Gladys’s nieces, Sylvia and Dorothy.
Earl was born on May 20, 1927, in Swan Lake, Manitoba where Earl’s father, Everette, was a grain buyer. Earl attended school in Indian Springs, where his oldest brother Stan and him, travelled by dog sled to school in the winter. In approximately, 1943, the family moved to St. James and took up residence on Ferry Road. In 1944 Earl joined the army to fight in the Second World War and was shipped to Saskatoon for training. Even though Earl didn’t see action, he listened carefully to the shortwave radio to understand how the war was unfolding, and with his army training and discipline, was ready to cross the ocean. In 1945, when the war ended, he started vocational training as a machinist. As luck would have it, Earl met a gentleman at the St. James Hotel who was looking for young men to join his company, Standard Aero Engine. Earl started his lengthy career at Standard in the machine shop and then was chosen to join a field crew to be trained as a mechanic to service military aircraft on RCAF bases. He travelled for four years to many small towns in Western Canada and finally Gimli, where he met his beautiful wife to-be, Gladys. In June, 1949, they were married in Gimli.
The following years were filled with having a family, and spending many weekends, summers and every Christmas in Gimli visiting Gladys’ many siblings and extended family. The Gimli family cottage, next door to Earl’s brother and family, was home to many gatherings around the campfire and games table!
Over Earl’s 39 years at Standard Aero Engine, holding many different positions, he saw the company grow from 23 employees to a worldwide company of many thousands of employees. Earl’s career grew from mechanic to management and in 1984, Earl decided to retire to Gimli.
During the retirement years in Gimli, Earl was active in the Gimli community. He joined Rotary and accepted the position of President in 1991. He was busy with fundraising, delivering Christmas Hampers, fish cookouts for seniors, and volunteering at Evergreen Basic Needs. These were the years where he could perfect his favourite activity, golf. He joined Northern Air Golf Club and met up with three gentlemen who golfed together five days a week for many years.
At Dad’s request there will not be a funeral service. Donations can be made to Canadian Cancer Society and Grace Hospice.
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 18, 2023, Nov 18, 2023
Condolences & Memories (1 entries)
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My condolences to the Harris family. We were neighbours of the Harris family on Roseberry Street in the 1960’s-1980’s. Earl was a real nice easygoing guy always taking the time to stop and talk to kids on the street. In 1970 I worked at Roseberry ESSO and Earl continued our discussions usually involving the Harris’ 1969 Skylark and other vehicles. A true gentleman. - Posted by: Bruce Johnson (Neighbor) on: Nov 18, 2023