David Harris

David Harris, 71, of Pampa, passed away on June 29, 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Graveside services will be 10:30 AM Saturday, July 4, 2020 at White Deer Cemetery.  Memorial services will be 1:00 PM Saturday, July 4, 2020 at Carmichael-Whatley Colonial Chapel with Rev. Vondel Stevens, pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church, Van Chriestenson, Jonathan Williams, and Mark Harris, David’s nephews, officiating.  The chapel service will be livestreamed at https://www.carmichael-whatley.com/page/live-streaming.

David came into the world in Pampa on April 25, 1949, the son of Amos and Verna Harris, the youngest of six Harris children raised on the farm south of Kingsmill. As of June 29, 2020, David has been reunited with his parents and two brothers, Amos Harris Jr. and Glen Harris, as well as one of his sisters, Mary Beth Williams, all of whom preceded him in death. When he reached Heaven, he was surely greeted by his nieces, Janae and Loveta Harris, and his nephew Jeremy.

While they are all having a family reunion in Heaven (which was David’s favorite thing to do, by the way), there are more than a few who are missing him back here. Elsie Chriestenson (his oldest sister) and Charity Harris (the sibling closest in age to him), no less than 10 nephews and a niece, as well as an ever expanding number of great and great-great nieces and nephews are forced to wait a little longer to enjoy a reunion that includes David.

David Harris was many things. “Average” was not one of those things. Whether standing in a muddy corral, surrounded by milling cattle, or sitting at a piano, leading hundreds of people in praise, David was at home. His rich, baritone voice would bring a congregation to their feet, singing, clapping, and basking in the glory of God. Later that day, his loud “whooHooo!” would have his beloved cattle running to him from the far side of the pasture. He was definitely anything but average.

Over the years, David ‘worked’ at many different jobs. He was a farmer, a scholar earning two degrees with honors, a youth and music pastor, a traveling musician, joining a college friend and giving concerts in churches across the country. He was a truck driver, a cattleman, a commodities trader, a pumper, and a corrections officer. He was all these things and none of them. A job could never define David.

The thing that made David look forward to each day was being with people. Everyone who knew him has a story about the time David helped them, or some adventure they had with him, or how something struck him funny and he laugh/honked, bringing the whole restaurant to a standstill. David was a man who built relationships...relationships that stood the test of time. People come and go, but once you are David’s friend, you are his friend for life. In fact, for David if you are his friend, you are family.

He loved being at the Walkabout ranch with his cattle, but he loved it more when he had someone with him. He just liked having someone along to visit with him, laugh with him and, of course, help him. He would start a one-hour project and four hours later say, “Well, that took longer than I thought. Typical day at the Walkabout. Let’s go get some lunch.”

He was a father figure who never married or had a child. There is no way to know how many young men are serving God, some of them in ministry, because ‘Uncle David’ took them under his wing. He would see a teenage boy who was hurting or struggling with life and he’d offer to pay them to help him with some project he was working on. They would work, talk, laugh, eat lunch and without even realizing it, that young man learned more about being a man and just how important he is to God than he realized at the time.

So, who was David Harris? He was a man who sacrificed himself to care for those closest to him. He was a man of great strength of character. He was a man of God. A humble leader with a quiet spirit, a loving heart and a generous, giving nature. He was a man who looked at his family, especially the younger ones and, with tears in his eyes and a catch in his voice, would say quietly, “I really want to see them in heaven.”

Memorials can be sent to St. Paul United Methodist Church, 511 N. Hobart, Pampa, Texas 79065 or a favorite charity.