- Date Of Birth: July 2, 1940
- Date Of Death: March 31, 2019
- State: Idaho
Donnelly LeRoy Harris, 78, went into the arms of his Heavenly Father on March 31, 2019, at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He was surrounded by his loving family.
Don was born July 2, 1940, in Heyburn, Idaho, to Milton LeRoy Harris and Alma Spangenberg. Don was the oldest of three children. When he was seven, he and his brother, Joseph Eldon, and his sister, Karon Marie, were adopted in January 1947, by Mary Curl, sister of their deceased father, who was killed in a traffic accident in 1943. Mary became affectionately referred to and known as “Mom” by the three siblings, as well as by all who knew the family.
Don married Beth Huff of Lake Shore, Utah, on September 11, 1965, in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple. They were blessed with five children, Kristin Mary Harris (Vern Eaton) of Gilbert, Arizona; Mark LeRoy Harris (Jessie Tarbox) of Manti, Utah; Kevin Brett Harris (Heather Kidd) of Lewisville, Idaho; Ryan Todd Harris (Stephanie Hulse) of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Darin Scott Harris (Tasha Anderson) of Salmon, Idaho. Through births and marriages, the couple had 19 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Beth passed away on December 23, 2000. On April 24, 2002, Don married Kristin Linn George of Roy, Utah, in the Bountiful, Utah Temple. After living in Clinton, Utah, for five years, the couple divorced in 2007. Don returned to Idaho Falls to be closer to his children and his sister. He met Marjorie Jean Walton Madsen in 2008, and they were married on April 12, 2008.
He attended elementary school in Albion, Idaho, and Burley, Idaho. He graduated from Burley Senior High School in 1958. He received an Associate Degree from Ricks College (1958-60); a BA from Utah State University (1961-64) and an MA from BYU (1966-70). He also did graduate work at the University of Minnesota and Weber State University. He taught American History, Journalism and Photography, and advised the school newspaper and yearbook at Idaho Falls and Skyline High Schools for 34 years (1964-1998). He and his students won numerous state and national awards in scholastic journalism. In 1996, Don was just the fourth teacher in Idaho, up to that time, to be named a National Journalism Education Association Certified Journalism Educator.
