Gillis Harris

Gillis Lynn Harris, 70, long-time resident of Naches Heights and Yakima, died peacefully January 15, 2015 at the Cottage in the Meadow. He was born January 2, 1945 in Yellville, AR, the oldest of the children born to Johnny and Virginia (Buchanan) Harris. In 1955 the Harris family moved to Naches Heights where he was raised and educated. With five younger siblings born by the time he was seven years old, Gillis spent his childhood getting into plenty of mischief with his brothers and was never in want for a playmate. He and his brothers might have teased her, but they also looked out for the youngest, their baby sister. Being the oldest of a large family in a rural area also meant there was plenty of work to do and his parents trained him to work hard. It was this work ethic that ultimately would define his life. On Oct 5, 1968 he married the love of his life, another hard worker, Mary Ann Sutley. Together they helped raise Gillis’ two sons, Jim and Tony, and in 1970 they welcomed their daughter, Angela, into the world. It was always instilled in their children that in order to get what they wanted out of life, they had to work hard. Gillis and Mary always enjoyed spending time together at home and after their daughter was grown, Gillis finally took a little time to relax, especially enjoying the Mariners and the Seahawks. After his daughter Angela was married, he developed a strong bond with his son-in-law, Grant Perry. Gillis and Mary enjoyed each other’s company so much that, unless they were at work, they went virtually everywhere together. Gillis began working fulltime in the fruit industry at Evans Fruit at the age of 16 to support his young family. He truly was his work and his work was him and he knew how to work as part of a team. He knew that his employer trusted him to help get their fruit to the Markey, so he built relationships with people that he could trust to help him do his job like Dan at Fruitvale Tire Center and Chet of Chet’s Truck Repair. Gillis spent most of his work life driving truck, being able to load and unload a straddle rig quickly and efficiently, and then putting the pedal to the metal! He spent the last 27 years working at Zirkle Fruit where he had a wonderful work family. In order to have work year-round, Gillis learned to do other odd jobs in and around the warehouse while he was still young, including forklift driving. He was so skilled that in the early to mid-1970’s he won the forklift-driving contest at the Highland Community Days for three or four years in a row. His winning streak ended but only after one of his competitors designed the course that year and practiced for hours so he could beat him. While his life was defined his work, his love for his wife of 46 years became clearly evident when he was diagnosed with cancer last October. His prognosis was less than ideal even with possible treatments, but his love for his family moved him to courageously fight as hard as he could to extend the time with them. Gillis told his family that he didn’t want a service held for him after he was gone. But after Angela explained to him that it would help them all to deal with his loss, he finally agreed. He looked out for them even at the end. His courage and selflessness are an example to those he has left behind. He will never be forgotten and will be missed every single day. Survivors include his wife, Mary Harris; two sons, Jim (Kelley) and Tony (Tracy) Harris; a daughter, Angela (Grant) Perry; his mother, Virginia Harris; four brothers, Danny, J.R., Ken and Bill Harris; a sister, Sue Harris; grandchildren, Heather, Nicole, and Madison; 2 great great grandchildren and one on the way. He was preceded in death by his father, Johnny Harris and sister Judy. A celebration of life will be from 1-3 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Terrace Heights Grange. (3701 West Birchfield Rd.). Online tributes may be shared at www.valleyhillsfh.com. Please come and have some lunch and share a memory or funny story to help us remember our Husband, Son, Father, Brother, Cousin and Friend. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gillis Harris, please visit our flower store.