James "Jim" Russell Harris

                                              

Born in Berkeley CA, James was the eldest son of Russell Daniel and Alzadie Paige Harris.  He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Inetta Harris, his son Stephen Harris, and his daughter Stephanie Harris.  He is survived by his wife Claudia, his brother Walter, his son Rodney, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

After attending San Francisco State, Jim joined the California Highway Patrol in December 1968.  His 37 years of service found him in Santa Ana before going back to the Academy as an instructor, Stockton, South Sacramento, Valley Division, and the Sacramento Communications Center.  While there, he was on two TV stations doing the traffic reports on early morning TV.  Other career assignments included recruiting, background investigations, public affairs, and community events where numerous times he sang the National Anthem for the Department.  He felt very honored to have been named the first  Officer of the Year for the Valley Division.
Jim served on the board of directors for Region 29 of the International Police Association for many years.  This proved to be a great advantage because of all the travel that he and his wife did after retirement.  Their 70 cruises took them all over the world, including the Mediterranean, South America, China, Japan, Australia, England, Scandinavia, and numerous Caribbean islands. However, some of his favorite cruises were the Smooth Jazz Cruises they were able to take.

Jim was also a volunteer with the CAHP Credit Union, serving on the Supervisory Committee. He started this volunteer service in 1981 and continued until his passing.

He loved working out, playing racquetball, reading, and the TRAVEL.  He had a very full life and enjoyed every minute of it.