- Date Of Birth: October 2, 1934
- Date Of Death: December 25, 2022
- State: Illinois
George Heineck Harris, age 88, of Batavia, passed away on Sunday, December 25, 2022, at his home surrounded by his loving family.
He was born October 2, 1934, the son of Raymond and Arvilla (Heineck) Harris.
Born in Colfax, Washington, George was raised in Northern Idaho and Spokane, Washington. He attended Washington State University, graduating in Police Science and Administration. At the time, this program was one of only three college level programs in the U.S. The others were at Berkley and Michigan State.
It was during his sophomore year in college that he met Caroll. She was an Alpha Chi and George was a Sig Ep. During a Greek social event, it was George’s good fortune to meet Caroll. While the intent of the social was to meet several others, George and Caroll spent the entire evening dancing together to the exclusion of others. George married the love of his life, Caroll, three years later.
Raised by parents who were music teachers, during grade school George took piano, coronet and baritone lessons. This was followed with choir membership in both high school and college.
Receiving an ROTC commission, George served three years as an officer in the Army, serving in Counter Intelligence with additional training as a polygraph examiner, interrogator and anti-eavesdropping specialist. He was stationed in Manhattan and traveled the New England states.
Unexpectedly, George received an offer he could not refuse. This required a family move from the beautiful NW to Chicago, where he became the Retail Security Director for Cluett Peabody, at that time, a major clothing manufacturer and retailer. This was followed by 19 years as Ace Hardware’s first Security, Safety and Property Manager.
George had a passion for flying.
George’s interest in pipe organs started in high school. He was intrigued with their history, construction, the blending of both wood and tin pipes and both electronic and pneumonic control. He took organ lessons in both high school and college.
With this background, it was only natural for him to purchase an 8 rank organ from a Jewish synagogue in NE Indiana. His family rented a truck and hauled some 450 pipes, turbine blower and a two manual keyboard to Batavia. Installation required building a dedicated room in their basement and cutting holes in their first floor front closet to accommodate some of the larger pipes.
George was a devoted Christian.
George served two terms on Riverwood’s Board of Directors and spent many days volunteering on numerous building projects. He also served on the President’s Council for several years at Judson University.
George is survived by his wife Caroll of 66 years, son Brian (Darla), daughter Pamela, daughter Sultana (Lionel) from Turkmenistan; 6 grandchildren James (Briana), Ashley, Brandy (Alex), Jessica, Wilna, and Madison; along with 10 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
