- Visitation
Private
- Service
A public Graveside service will be held
Monday, February 1, 2021
11:00 am
College Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, IL.
- Full Obituary
Delbert Leroy Harris was born October 28, 1929 in Lebanon, Illinois, the only child of Clinton and Viola (nee Naumer) Harris. He lived his entire life in Lebanon (except when in college, med school and completing a two year ROTC commitment) and was immensely proud of and loyal to the town. He was an active member of the community until dementia brought his life to a close January 27, 2021. Del leaves behind a legacy of hard work, civic engagement, volunteerism, and love.
Del was preceded in death by his wife Alice Dare (nee Jones) and is survived by his current wife, Mary Metzger-Harris (nee Swan); his children, Jeanine (Jerry) Buttimer, Jeff Harris and Paul (Pam) Harris; and grandchildren, Kelsey and Keegan Buttimer. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews whom he treated to Cardinal baseball games and rounds of golf, took wading in the ice cold water of the Baptist Hill springs, thrilled when getting the family station wagon full of children air-born over the bumps of Missouri country roads, and encouraged them in their medical endeavors. Additionally, Del will be missed by two college students from Indiana he and Alice welcomed into the family years ago and by the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of his beloved blended families.
The influence of two books about family doctors led Del to accept early entrance into St. Louis University Medical School after completing just 3 years at the University of Illinois. It was in medical school that he met his first wife, Alice, who was attending nurses’ training in St. Louis. To fund his education Del worked a variety of jobs: distributing movie bills, stocking grocery shelves, washing pots and pans, performing hospital orderly duties, filing medical records, etc. After graduating medical school and completing a general practice residency he served a two year ROTC commitment at Ft. Benning, GA as a Battalion Surgeon with the 9th Field Artillery – 3rd Infantry Division. In this capacity Del delivered hundreds of babies, a favorite part of his practice for many years.
While in the service Del acquired a $900 construction loan and his father and grandfather built his medical office with the assistance of several close friends who were repaid with free medical service for years. Early in his career Del made house calls and farm calls and often provided transportation to hospitals prior to Lebanon having access to ambulance services. He assisted in medical surgeries of his patients providing continuity of care and post-operative information for families. He dispensed a wide variety of medications from his office just slightly above cost saving patients both time and money. His career here spanned 35 years, making daily morning hospital rounds at both St. Elizabeth’s and Memorial hospitals in Belleville.
Del was certified by the American Specialty Board of Family Practice in its second year of existence by passing a 3-day written exam. He recertified 6 years later, scoring in the top 3% of all candidates, and continued to recertify every 6 years of his career. Del welcomed a valued partner, Dr. Harold Harsin, to the practice for several years which permitted him time to be even more involved in medical and civic organizations. While on staff at the two hospitals he served on numerous committees, chairing several. He was most proud of his efforts to establish a Joint Family Practice Residency Program at the Belleville hospitals. Del was an active member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, the St. Clair Medical Society, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP), and the Red Cross. He served on national and local committees and held positions of leadership in many of these including being elected to the positions of Chairman of the Board and President of the IAFP.
Del was also active in community organizations, particularly at the United Church of Christ, the Lions Club, the Lebanon Educational Foundation and Alumni Association, the latter two of which he was instrumental in founding, and on the local school board where he successfully lobbied to allow a pregnant student to finish her high school degree, establishing a precedent for any to come.
Del managed to squeeze in quality family time, cranking the ice cream maker for family birthdays, organizing dinners and shows in St, Louis, and baseball drills in the side yard. He meticulously planned family vacations pulling a trailer every summer to the American Medical Association annual meeting and along the way treating his family to state parks, Disneyland, the New York World’s Fair, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, endless family sing-a-longs, and games of cow poker. Del was very social and loved spending time with family and friends, sharing with them his love of dining out, golf, bowling (he bowled at least one 600 series), travel, Dixieland jazz, Cardinal baseball games, the Muny Opera, and McKendree University sporting events where he met his second wife, Mary. Being married to Mary opened new opportunities and Del enjoyed accompanying and supporting her professional and volunteer activities. They alternated attendance at the Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ and enjoyed supporting the activities of both.
Unable to slow down much in retirement Del performed induction physicals for the armed services for several years on a part time basis which permitted him to spend more time with his children and grandchildren. He delighted in setting up tents, wading pools and fireworks displays for Kelsey and Keegan and awarding them with repurposed golf trophies when they won milk drinking contests, which, surprisingly, Del always managed to lose.
Given Del’s love for Lebanon we request donations in lieu of flowers to the Lebanon Lions Club, the Lebanon Educational Foundation or St. Paul’s United Church of Christ. Alternatively, we would be honored with donations to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Visitation and prayers will be Private.
A Public Graveside service will be held Monday, February 1, 2021, at 11:00 am, at College Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, IL.
Meridith Funeral Home, Lebanon, IL.
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