George Harris

George Harris

1932-2010

GEORGE HARRIS’s education formed a remarkable trajectory. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1932, his early schooling took place in a one-room schoolhouse. From that humble beginning, Harris enrolled at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and received his B.A. He moved on to Ann Arbor, where he received an M.A. in Classics from the University of Michigan (1959) and then to Evanston, where he received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University (1971). After those years of regular changes of scene and increasing academic accomplishment, his life was marked by loyalty and stability. His hometown sweetheart, Ina, was his wife for 57 years; his career at Calvin lasted 35. He was a longtime member of CAMWS, a devoted teacher of the classics, a generous volunteer in his community, an enthusiastic traveller and a perpetually optimistic fan of the Chicago Cubs. He died in Grand Rapids on July 3, 2010, following a brave and protracted battle with leukemia.

— Ward Briggs