Condolences and prayers from the Class of 59 go out to the family of Julian Harris upon his passing. Below is an obituary, link supplied by Larry Durham.
Date of Birth:
Friday, November 8th, 1940
Date of Death:
Sunday, August 24th, 2014
Obituary:
Augustus Julian Harris, age 73, transitioned from this life to the next, on Sunday, August 24, 2014 at 8:43am, after a yearlong struggle with small cell lung cancer. He peacefully transitioned in his home, free from pain and surrounded by the love and devotion of his wife, Mary and daughter, Katherine.
Julian was born on November 8, 1940 in Decatur, Alabama. He is the middle child of Julian and Hilda Harris. He attended Decatur High School and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Davidson College in North Carolina. He worked as a stock broker in Huntsville, Alabama and went on to co-own and co-manage (with his brother David Harris) the Near Store in Madison, Al until his retirement.
Julian is survived by his wife of the past 19 years, Mary Hazelrig-Harris of Madison, AL and his daughter, Katherine Harris, of Huntsville, AL from his first marriage; his sister, Noel Harris Shinn, of Athens, AL and his brother, David Harris, of Decatur, AL; his granddogs, Franklin and Tessie; and many nieces and nephews.
A “Celebration of Life” is scheduled for Friday, September 12, 2014 from 5:00pm – 9:00pm at the Monte Sano Lodge in the Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, AL. Sharing of stories and sentiments by friends and family of Julian will occur from 6:30pm – 7:30pm during the celebration. Come share in the celebration of the life of A. Julian Harris! Dress casually as he preferred.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to Inside Out Ministries (Mary and Julian’s favorite charity) or choose to donate to a charity of your choice.
Inside Out Ministries P.O. Box 2004 Madison, AL 35758 (256) 325-5193
Any questions regarding the Life Celebration, please contact Katherine Harris: 256-541-7183.
Richard Allen
There were two Harris boys in our class, cousins Julian and Norman, now both deceased. Norman was a Jock who played hard on and off the football field. Norman was outgoing and popular, which was so important in those days, and he seemed to be concerned only with football and girls, not necessarily in that order, and appeared to be successful at both endeavors. Julian, on the other hand, was more reserved and was a serious student.
As juniors, many of us took chemistry taught by Mr. John Teague, who was a great teacher, but who did not put up with foolishness. He had a large paddle that looked like it might have been made out of a bed slat and he was not afraid to use it to maintain order. I do not remember Norman ever being paddled, and certainly not Julian, but Rhea Greenwell was a regular, and Hugh Ogle might have provoked Mr. Teague's ire at least once. Greenwell and several others in the class were seniors and also played football. They needed to pass chemistry to graduate.
On the day of the final exam, we were waiting in the hall for the first section to finish the exam so we could take our seats. As the students emerged they were clearly shell shocked, some almost in tears. That, they moaned, was the hardest test they had ever seen, and we were shaken down to our penny loafers. We soon found out why. When we were seated, Mr.Teague, who was purple with anger, informed us that he knew that someone had stolen the test he had prepared and circulated it to everyone, and we were not going to get away with it. He then passed out a standardized test from California and wished us luck. When the smoke cleared, all seniors and almost everyone else had failed. Only three of our class passed: Julian, Tommy Kullman, and me. Miraculously, Julian had made a 92 on the un-passable final exam, and Tommy and I squeaked by in the mid-70's.
Much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth ensued, and Mr. Teague finally relented(we believed at the urging of the school board) and let us re-take the final exam. The grade distribution returned to normal and all the seniors walked. I never learned for sure who comprised the first exam, but Rhea was the prime suspect. What we did learn for sure from this episode was that Julian was one of the true "brains" of our class, and we showed him due deference from then on.
Sue Carrell (Meadows)
I have such fond recollections of growing up on Church Street (until age 7) in "Old Decatur" with Julian harris and others that I felt compelled to write them down and to enjoy remembering. Julian and his family lived across the street and around the corner from us, and my older sister Anne would walk over to the Harris house every school morning and wait for Noel to finish breakfast so they could walk to Lafayette Street School together ( the school was located in what is now the parking lot for First United Methodist Church). Miss Elizabeth Houston taught first grade and so in 1946 I entered her class along with Julian and Norman, Sammy Wright, Sammy Timberlake, Larry Durham, Lynn Fisher,Ed Cornell,Jerry Thomas, Bobbie Mae Banks, and others. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Rand Bryan told me at our reunion this year that he was also in her class, that he lived in the country and rode the Glenn Dairy Truck into town with his sister for school with Miss Houston. He remembered that we had a rhythm band in her class. I also recall that the schools started a lunch program that year, and I will never forget the odor that permeated the halls because of that. ElderlyMrs. Terrell was the 2nd grade teacher, and she was a holy terror! Mother had to make me go to school and I would be sick at my stomach every morning thinking about going through her class! We were all terrified of her!
What an ideal childhood we all had in that wonderful old neighborhood, where it was safe to walk everywhere; we could run and play in the yards of our friends as long as we told our mothers where we were going. We rode our bikes on the sidewalks; however, John Robin Thomas, the local bully, would run out and try to block us from riding. His little brother, Jerry, was also in our class. The library was only a block away and we spent many happy hours in there reading and choosing books to check out. My grandparents lived on the corner of Oak and Church Street in a big 2 story white house that was later taken over for the first expansion of First Baptist Church.
Some of us belonged to First Methodist Church and were blessed to have Miss Houston as our sunday school teacher there from 4th grade thru 6th grade. I thought she was the best teacher ever; she would have us memorize a LOT of scripture and recite it to the class, and I have been able to remember a lot of it! Those in that class were both Sammys, Larry D.,Julian and Norman, Ebbie Emens, Sue Nungester,Bobbie Mae Banks.
Sometimes Anne and I would take a city bus for a nickel to the swimming pool in West Town, and then we would walk back home by way of Hobo Jungle! Horrors! And of course we would walk uptown on Bank St. on Saturday afternoons to see the movie, usually westerns, and I believe the admission was a dime!
When I was in Decatur in May for our reunion, I put on my walking shoes one afternoon and walked all over old Decatur, remembering happy times and seeing where my friends lived, and admiring the beauty of the historic homes, What a special place it was to grow up!
Sue Meadows