| Thomas Brooks Harris |
Published in The Island Packet on Jun. 23, 2020.
Thomas Brooks Harris
1932 - 2020
Thomas Brooks Harris, age 87, of Callawassie Island,
South Carolina, died at home early on the morning of June
20, 2020.
Tom was born on June 29, 1932, and grew up on the
streets and playgrounds of Washington, D.C.
He served as captain of his high school basketball team at
Roosevelt High School before graduating in 1950.
After high school, Tom sailed on a destroyer, the U.S.S. Hailey, to the Korean peninsula,
where he served as a machinist's mate during the Korean War. He returned home in a hurry
to marry his high school sweetheart, Joan Alene Lyon (RHS 1952), in 1953, and she was
waiting for him.
He went to college on the G.I. bill, graduating from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in
Engineering in 1958, and went on to work at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in White Oak,
Maryland for 35 years, before retiring to build a home and a life in the low country with Joan
in 1993.
He is and was much loved by his children, Julie Ann and Thomas Andrew, by their spouses,
Keith and Caroline, and by his grandchildren, Charlie, Savannah and Jeremy. For them,
Tom provided unwavering support and encouragement for all pursuits, educational and
otherwise. He was a striver, and always recognized other strivers he encountered along the
way, taking the time to offer personal appreciation for work well done, and often writing
commendations to supervisors. He was also a lot of fun and took time out to enjoy his many
friends and family, good food and good music. Most of all he loved the view out his window
to the marsh on Callawassie at sunset.
He will be missed, but remembered for a life well lived.
Arrangements for a memorial service at First Presbyterian Church in Beaufort will be
announced at a later date.
Anderson Funeral Home is assisting the family.
.
Thomas Brooks Harris
1932 - 2020
Thomas Brooks Harris, age 87, of Callawassie Island,
South Carolina, died at home early on the morning of June
20, 2020.
Tom was born on June 29, 1932, and grew up on the
streets and playgrounds of Washington, D.C.
He served as captain of his high school basketball team at
Roosevelt High School before graduating in 1950.
After high school, Tom sailed on a destroyer, the U.S.S. Hailey, to the Korean peninsula,
where he served as a machinist's mate during the Korean War. He returned home in a hurry
to marry his high school sweetheart, Joan Alene Lyon (RHS 1952), in 1953, and she was
waiting for him.
He went to college on the G.I. bill, graduating from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in
Engineering in 1958, and went on to work at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in White Oak,
Maryland for 35 years, before retiring to build a home and a life in the low country with Joan
in 1993.
He is and was much loved by his children, Julie Ann and Thomas Andrew, by their spouses,
Keith and Caroline, and by his grandchildren, Charlie, Savannah and Jeremy. For them,
Tom provided unwavering support and encouragement for all pursuits, educational and
otherwise. He was a striver, and always recognized other strivers he encountered along the
way, taking the time to offer personal appreciation for work well done, and often writing
commendations to supervisors. He was also a lot of fun and took time out to enjoy his many
friends and family, good food and good music. Most of all he loved the view out his window
to the marsh on Callawassie at sunset.
He will be missed, but remembered for a life well lived.
Arrangements for a memorial service at First Presbyterian Church in Beaufort will be
announced at a later date.
Anderson Funeral Home is assisting the family.
.
