Last year on March 12 we were celebrating Dad’s 92nd birthday, an occasion that he shared with one of his great-grandsons Owen though they were born in two different centuries. This year as a family we mark March 12 as a memorial tribute of Dad’s passing in September, 2021.
Allan Arthur Harris grew up in Owen Sound. He was one of four children born to Arthur Harris and Emily Keeling. He had one sister, Lorraine, and two brothers Ed and Babe.
As a child of the Depression Era, he was busy with plenty of odd jobs after school. One of those jobs was as a delivery boy for a local pharmacy. A portent of things to come perhaps? Working for the pharmacy would certainly have given him a glimpse into a different world.
After high school Al put himself through pharmacy college, obtaining his B.Sc.Phm. in 1955. He was the first in his family to earn a university degree so this was quite an exciting accomplishment and something to be very proud of.
He married Ila Brown and they started a family. They began to head south by way of Toronto, Listowel and London. Al worked as a pharmacist in each city. Eventually he ended up in Kingsville, which was as far south as he could go and still be in Canada.
The family came to Kingsville after he was invited to become a druggist at Statham’s Pharmacy on the Four Corners. Ultimately Al became a co-owner with Harry Wilson. Some years later, Allan moved on to work as a pharmacist for Big V Drug Store, first in Kingsville, then in Essex.
Al was a member and one-time president of the Kingsville Kinsmen Club and was active in Epworth United Church. He was elected to the local school board for one term.
After Al retired, he enjoyed tending his gardens and his orchard. He loved to travel, visiting Alaska, England, Germany, Spain and Turkey, among other places. Sometimes he’d just get in his car and drive east, often heading for the Gaspé Peninsula.
Allan Harris was a father of five. He had nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. There are now four generations of his family living in Kingsville and Wheatley. More of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are spread out across two continents.
He often told me that he felt like a lucky man to have such a wonderful family. And we were lucky to have him.