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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Eric Wyckoff Harris, Sr.<br>
| name= Eric Wyckoff Harris, Sr.<br>
(Businessman who founded the first Jaycee chapter in Louisiana)
(Businessman who founded the first Jaycee chapter in Louisiana)
| birth_date=January 8, 1916
| birth_place=Rapides Parish, [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| death_date=October 24, 2007 (aged 91)
| birth_date =January 8, 1916
| death_place=[[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Louisiana<br>
| birth_place =Rapides Parish, [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
Resting place:<br>
| death_date =October 24, 2007 (aged 91)
Greenwood Memorial Park in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]]
| death_place = [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Louisiana
| spouse=Nelwyn Rhodes Harris (married 1941-2007, his death)<br>
| spouse=Nelwyn Rhodes Harris (married 1941-2007, his death)<br>
Children:<br>
Children:<br>
}}
}}
'''Eric Wyckoff Harris, Sr.''' (January 8, 1916 – October 24, 2007), was an [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] [[business]]man and civic leader who in 1939 headed the committee which organized the first [[Louisiana]] chapter of the Jaycees, now called the United States Junior Chamber. A builder and [[real estate]] developer, he was co-owner of Hill Harris & Company from 1936 until 2005, when he and his brother, James C. Harris (1913–2009), closed the business, which had been founded by their father.<ref name=obit>Eric W. Harris obituary, ''Alexandria Town Talk'', October 25, 2007.</ref>
'''Eric Wyckoff Harris, Sr.''' (January 8, 1916 – October 24, 2007), was an [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] [[business]]man and civic leader who in 1939 headed the committee which organized the first [[Louisiana]] chapter of the Jaycees, now called the United States Junior Chamber. A builder and [[real estate]] developer, he was co-owner of Hill Harris & Company from 1936 until 2005, when he and his brother, James C. Harris (1913–2009), closed the business, which had been founded by their father.<ref name=obit>Eric W. Harris obituary, ''Alexandria Town Talk'', October 25, 2007.</ref>
Harris was born to Homer H. Harris, Sr. (1890–1971) and the former Arletta Cato (1888–1987) at Hard Times Plantation south of Alexandria. The family moved in 1921 to Alexandria, where he graduated from Bolton High School, attended [[Southern Baptist]]-affiliated [[Louisiana College]] in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]] for two years, and graduated from [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]]. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. During [[World War II]], Harris volunteered in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps, the forerunner of the [[United States Air Force]]. He piloted [[B-29]] bombers.<ref name=obit/>
Harris was born to Homer H. Harris, Sr. (1890–1971) and the former Arletta Cato (1888–1987) at Hard Times Plantation south of Alexandria. The family moved in 1921 to Alexandria, where he graduated from Bolton High School, attended [[Southern Baptist]]-affiliated [[Louisiana College]] in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]] for two years, and graduated from [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]]. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. During [[World War II]], Harris volunteered in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps, the forerunner of the [[United States Air Force]]. He piloted [[B-29]] bombers.<ref name=obit/>
Harris was a member of the Alexandria-Pineville [[Chamber of Commerce]] and chaired its aviation committee. He also served for a decade]on the Rapides Parish]Aviation Authority, including two years a president. Harris was a director of the Central Cities Development Corporation and a former president of the Rapides Parish Industrial Development Board. He was past president of the Alexandria Lions International and scored perfect attendance for sixty-three years. He was active in the Committee for a Better Alexandria and worked on the development of navigation]projects on the Red River.<ref name=obit/>
Harris was a member of the Alexandria-Pineville [[Chamber of Commerce]] and chaired its aviation committee. He also served for a decade]on the Rapides Parish]Aviation Authority, including two years a president. Harris was a director of the Central Cities Development Corporation and a former president of the Rapides Parish Industrial Development Board. He was past president of the Alexandria Lions International and scored perfect attendance for sixty-three years. He was active in the Committee for a Better Alexandria and worked on the development of navigation]projects on the Red River.<ref name=obit/>
Harris was survived by his wife of sixty-six years, the former Nelwyn Rhodes (c. 1918-2018) of Alexandria;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetowntalk/obituary.aspx?pid=189397769|title=Newlyn Harris obituary|ppublisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|date=June 27, 2018|accessdate=March 14, 2019}}</ref> two daughters, Sandra Harris Kearney, and her husband, James Michael Kearney of Alexandria, and Conni Harris Smith of [[Lafayette]], the widow of Hadley M. Smith (1940–1996); one son, Eric W. Harris, Jr. (born c. 1942) of Moncks Corner, [[South Carolina]], and five grandchildren.<ref name=obit/> He was preceded in death by another brother, Homer Harris, Jr. (1910–1999). Harris died in Alexandria at the age of ninety-one. His services were held First [[United Methodist]] Church in Alexandria, where he served on the building committee. Interment was at Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville.<ref name=obit/>
Harris was survived by his wife of sixty-six years, the former Nelwyn Rhodes (c. 1918-2018) of Alexandria;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetowntalk/obituary.aspx?pid=189397769|title=Newlyn Harris obituary|ppublisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|date=June 27, 2018|accessdate=March 14, 2019}}</ref> two daughters, Sandra Harris Kearney, and her husband, James Michael Kearney of Alexandria, and Conni Harris Smith of [[Lafayette]], the widow of Hadley M. Smith (1940–1996); one son, Eric W. Harris, Jr. (born c. 1942) of Moncks Corner, [[South Carolina]], and five grandchildren.<ref name=obit/> He was preceded in death by another brother, Homer Harris, Jr. (1910–1999). Harris died in Alexandria at the age of ninety-one. His services were held First [[United Methodist]] Church in Alexandria, where he served on the building committee. Interment was at Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville.<ref name=obit/>
Harris' brother, James C. Harris, was also an LSU graduate and a [[United States Navy]] veteran of the Mediterranean, Middle East, African, and Pacific theaters of World War II, with service in the [[Philippines]]. James Harris, who retired from Hill-Harris at the age of ninety-two, was also active in the Alexandria community, having been former presidents of both the Kiwanis International and the Kent Plantation House, a restored 19th century structure near Bayou Rapides.<ref>Obituary of James C. Harris, ''Alexandria Town Talk'', February 27, 2009.</ref>
Harris' brother, James C. Harris, was also an LSU graduate and a [[United States Navy]] veteran of the Mediterranean, Middle East, African, and Pacific theaters of World War II, with service in the [[Philippines]]. James Harris, who retired from Hill-Harris at the age of ninety-two, was also active in the Alexandria community, having been former presidents of both the Kiwanis International and the Kent Plantation House, a restored 19th century structure near Bayou Rapides.<ref>Obituary of James C. Harris, ''Alexandria Town Talk'', February 27, 2009.</ref>