Earl D Harris Jr. Obituary

Earl D Harris Jr. (W80T) born Sept 9, 1938, in Olelna, AR and passed away Sept. 12, 2026. He graduated from Dermot High School and joined the U.S. Army, serving in the ASA, Army Security Agency, stationed in Bad Aibling, Germany working throughout Europe.

A celebration of life visitation with Earl’s family will take place on Sunday, September 20, 2026, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the Starks and Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Rd. Saint Joseph, Michigan 49085. Feel free to share a memory with the family on their online tribute wall at www.starks-menchinger.com.

After his military service he attended the University of Arkansas where he received his Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and got his first job at Heathkit in Benton Harbor, designing the H5400 and ultimately became Chief Engineer in the Amateur Radio Dept. Earl was then hired by Ehrhorn Technologies in Colorado to set up their engineering dept. where he helped develop the "exciter" for a new product, the MRI. He then returned to MI to work for ElectroVoice as Director of Engineering.

Over the years Earl enjoyed golf, jogging and scuba diving as hobbies and of course Ham radio. Earl raced cars and built the first Hot Rod in Dermot. He and wife Marti, who married October 13, 1984, enjoyed traveling in the USA and abroad and of course loved having their house filled with love and laughter.

Earl is preceded in death by his son, John David Harris; parents, Earl D Harris Sr., Claretta Jones Harris; and five sisters.

He is survived by wife, Marcia (Marti) Harris; children, Randolph Rothschild (Margaret Cardon) Rothschild Of AZ, Derek Rothschild (Stephanie Orsini) of TX; and grandchildren, Ryan Rothschild, AZ, Caitlin Rothschild (Brady Stanger) TX, and Daria Rothschild TX.