[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 52 (Monday, April 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING EARL HARRIS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 13, 2015

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness and sincere 
admiration that I take this time to remember a dear friend and one of 
Indiana's finest legislators, State Representative Earl Harris of East 
Chicago. On Monday, March 23, 2015, Earl, a member of the Indiana House 
of Representatives for the past thirty-three years, passed away at the 
age of 73. Remembered by his colleagues and constituency as a 
consummate gentlemen and champion for Northwest Indiana, Earl will be 
deeply missed by his devoted family, beloved friends, and the citizens 
he so faithfully served.
   Earl Harris was born in Kerrville, Tennessee, on November 8, 1941. 
Following his graduation from Woodstock High School in 1959, he 
relocated to Northwest Indiana to further his education. Earl attended 
both Indiana University Northwest and Purdue University Calumet, 
located in Northwest Indiana, as well as the Illinois Institute of 
Technology. Although he was well-known for his career in public office, 
Mr. Harris's lifetime of service to his fellow citizens predates his 
election to the Indiana General Assembly. To those who knew him, it is 
no surprise that, as a young man, Earl spent six years as an enlisted 
member of the Navy Reserve. Throughout his life, Mr. Harris was also a 
small business owner, an employee of Inland Steel, and a fixed assets 
administrator for the School City of East Chicago.
   Since his election to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1982, 
Representative Earl Harris proved himself to be, first and foremost, a 
devoted public servant. His colleagues in Indianapolis will forever 
remember him as a true visionary, a tireless advocate for the people of 
Northwest Indiana, and the finest of role models for any young 
legislator to emulate. Among his legislative accomplishments was the 
creation of a Lake Michigan marina development commission intended to 
promote economic development along the lake. This idea later got folded 
into the Marquette Plan that the Northwest Indiana Regional Development 
Authority is now implementing in Lake and Porter Counties.
   His constituents will remember his kindness and his willingness to 
help in any way he could. I will miss working with Earl, as I have for 
many years, but will never forget his warmth and his compassion, as 
well as his relentless desire to leave Northwest Indiana, and the 
entire state, better than he found it.
   While he was tirelessly committed to the people of Indiana, Earl 
Harris leaves to cherish his memory the most important people in his 
life, his devoted wife, Donna, and loving son, Earl Jr., as well as his 
extended family and the many people who were fortunate to call him a 
friend.
   Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished 
colleagues join me in paying tribute to one of Indiana's finest, State 
Representative Earl Harris, for his outstanding leadership, devotion to 
his community, and commitment to improving the quality of life for 
residents of Northwest Indiana and throughout the state. His dedication 
to his family, friends, and those he so faithfully served is worthy of 
our admiration. I am proud to have called him my friend.

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