James HarrisJames HarrisJames W. “Wink” Harris, 82, of Table Grove, died at 12:49 p.m. Monday, March 25, 1996, at his daughter’s home in Villa Ridge, Mo.
He was born Aug. 25, 1913, in Boise, Idaho, the son of James R. and Beulah Wright Harris. He married Celia C. Coffman on July 20, 1941, in Independence, Mo. She died Aug. 11, 1995. One sister also preceded him in death.
Surviving are three daughters, Pam Sigler and Jamell Harris, both of Villa Ridge, and Connie Baltzelle of LaBelle, Mo.; two sisters, Roberta Kraushaar of Jacksonville and Lavone Dwyer of California; and three grandchildren.
A World War II Navy veteran, he was a member of Table Grove American Legion. He graduated from Western Illinois University in Macomb, where he played varsity football. He was a teacher and coach in Stronghurst for five years. He has farmed the family farm in Table Grove since 1945. He served on the VIT School Board and on the Mid-Century Telephone Board. He was the announcer at VIT football games for more than 25 years. He was a horse science instructor at Illinois Central College in East Peoria. He was a member of the American Quarter Horse Association and the National Snaffle Bit Association. He was a longtime member and director of the Illinois State Stock Horse Association. He had bred, trained and showed quarter horses since 1957.
He was a member of Table Grove Community Church, where services will be at 1 p.m. Friday with Rev. Howard Self officiating. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Kost Memorial Home in Vermont. Burial will be in Harris Cemetery in Table Grove, where military rites will be accorded by his American Legion post.
Memorials may be made to his church or his American Legion post.
From the Peoria Journal Star.
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