Mason K. Harris Sr

Peterborough, NH Mason Kendall Harris Sr., 101, died peacefully at his home in Peterborough on January 15, 2015. He was born in Forest Hills, Massachusetts on June 22, 1913, son of the late Newcomb and Ethel (Kendall) Harris. Peterborough has been his home since 1917. As a youth he was an active beekeeper, and to this day many trees on Temple Mountain still bear his initials. During the summers he worked at Early Crop Farm in Temple. He graduated from Peterborough High School in 1932. Before WWII, he chauffeured George S. Parker, industrialist and board game founder, of Parker Brothers. During the war (1940-1945) he served in the US First Army, Third Armored "Spearhead" Division, Thirty-Third Armored Regiment, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant. Though he was offered a higher rank, he turned it down because he didn't want to pay for the uniform. His Spearhead division is known for its march of over 100 miles in a single day, a record in modern warfare. Additionally, it was the first unit to penetrate the Siegfried Line. He earned the Bronze Star for heroism and meritorious service during The Battle of the Bulge when he guided a convoy through enemy lines under the cover of darkness and returned with the desperately needed supplies. His European campaigns included Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe. He was involved with securing the beach on D-Day Plus 1, facing the harsh conditions at The Battle of the Bulge, and liberating the Nordhausen concentration camp. After the war Mason returned to Peterborough and worked as a carpenter at The MacDowell Colony. In 1949, with one truck and a dream, he started The Harris Construction Company. He built his first office and scale house using a discarded piano box from The MacDowell Colony. Later he bought the Huckins Oil Co and operated it as The Harris Oil Company. Later still, he began another venture, Valley Redi-Mix. Harris Construction Company, Inc. has been continuously operating in Peterborough for 66 years. He stopped going to work every day at age 99. A self-made man, astute and tenderhearted, he is admired for his strong work ethic and unwavering integrity. Mason is remembered as a quiet, humble man who was at peace walking in the woods and making furniture in his workshop. One of his many interests involved an antique shingle mill, which he demonstrated at shows in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, and he counted Farm Days at Musterfield in North Sutton, Canterbury Shaker Village and the Dublin small engine shows among his favorites. His gardens flourished with cultivated strawberries, raspberries and apples. He leaves behind his wife of 69 years, Bertha (Koskela), five daughters and one son: Cathy Field and her husband David of St. Petersburg, FL; Ann Moller and her husband Ken of Hancock; Jean Harris of Peterborough, Kay Balionis and her husband Gary of Fairfield, CT; Donna Harris of Peterborough; and Mason K. "Skip" Harris, Jr. and his wife Yvonne of Shelbyville, KY. Grandfather of five grandsons and one granddaughter: Andresen Moller, Jed Moller, Tobin Green, Alexander Balionis, Benjamin Balionis and Julia Balionis. Great-grandfather to Renier Moller, Ryder Moller and Grace Green. He also leaves his brother Eugene of Ogdensburg, NY and many nieces and nephews, especially nephew Ken Harris and his wife Sally of Thornton, NH. His brothers Vernon, Donald, Douglas and Newcomb predecease him. Calling hours will be held at the Jellison Funeral Home, 25 Concord Street, Peterborough on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 from 5:00PM -7:00PM. A celebration of his life will be held at the Union Congregational Church, 33 Concord Street, Peterborough on Sunday January 25, 2015 at 2:30 PM. Burial will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Mason's name be made to Hospice at HCS, PO Box 564, Keene, NH 03431; The Cheney-Armstrong Post 5, PO Box 172, Peterborough, NH (where he was a member for 59 years); or Monadnock Family Services, 64 Main Street, Keene, NH 03431.

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