John F. Harris, Jr.
John F. Harris, Jr., a resident of Cokesbury Village, Hockessin, DE, passed away on June 22nd at age 91 after a long illness. Born in Stroudsburg, PA, he was the son of John F. and Georgia Belle Harris. In 1943 the U.S. Navy sent him to the University of Pennsylvania to study engineering, where he met Jacqueline, his future wife for over 66 years. After the war he returned to complete his B.A. M.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry and then went to work for over 30 years in the Central Research Dept. at DuPont in nearby Delaware. While at DuPont he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to do post-doctorate work at the University of Cologne, Germany, living there for a year with his wife and three children. Retiring in 1985, he went regularly to the Penn Museum, becoming an expert at deciphering Maya hieroglyphs and a consulting scholar. His Museum-published book on glyph decipherment is now used by universities nationwide. For his 80th birthday he was awarded a large stele modeled after one at Piedras Negras, Mexico. The Maya inscription translated said “To John Harris, 5 katun lord, great wise one and good man.” John is survived by his wife Jackie, his children – Mark (Karen), John (Jane) and Katherine; four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be sent to
The Helen Graham Cancer Center, 4701 Ogletown-Stanton Rd., Newark, DE 19713 or
Bread Upon the Waters scholarship fund at the University of Pennsylvania, 16 College Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6377 or:
The John Harris Memorial Gift to The University Museum Library: All donations will be directed towards research materials pertaining to pre-Columbian cultures.
Guide for Contributions to University Museum Library
By check: payable to “The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.” Specify in Notes section: “Gift in Memory of John Harris towards the Penn Museum Library.”
Mail to: Matthew E. Pilecki, Office of Development, Suite 201.3,
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 3420 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104
Donate online at https://giving.apps.upenn.edu/giving/jsp/fast.do?program=LIB
Make these selections from the drop downs: Choose:
Museum Library
One-time gift
Then enter the amount.
Memory
then enter “John Harris.”
Specify that you’d like an acknowledgment sent to John’s wife. A record of these gifts will be kept so that Jackie gets one letter instead of a letter every time someone makes a gift.
Condolences may be sent to John’s wife:
Jackie Harris
Cokesbury Village
726 Loveville Road
Hockessin, De 19707-15