James Harris Dies After Sudden Illness

The VGCC staff on Main Campus was shocked and saddened by the sudden death of James Melvin “Chicken” Harris, a maintenance assistant for Vance-Granville Community College.

James died Tuesday, Jan. 8, at Maria Parham Hospital after a brief illness. He was 51.

He had worked in the maintenance department for more than 13 years.

He was a Vance County native and the son of John Robert Harris and Lucy Mae Gill Harris.

He was a faithful member of Mount Olive Baptist Church and was educated in the Vance County Schools.

He was honorably discharged after four years in the U.S. Army and served in the Air National Guard as an E-6 for the past 28 years.

He was an active member of Beacon Light Lodge 249 and was a member of the Friendly Hearts Motorcycle Club.

Funeral services were conducted on Jan. 12 at Mount Olive Baptist Church. The Rev. Melvin Solomon officiated, assisted by pastors Charles Turrentine and Geraldine Hargrove and evangelist Shirley Turrentine, with eulogy by the Rev. Richard Batts. Interment with full military and Masonic rites followed in the church cemetery.

Surviving are his wife of 18 years, Hattie Williams Harris; two sons, Sonny of the home and James Anthony Richardson of Fayetteville; one daughter, Tanya Jones of Henderson; four brothers, John Harris, Isaac Harris and Clifton Harris, all of Gadsden, S.C., and William Harris of Washington, D.C.; three sisters, Evelyn Sligh of Hyattsville, Md., and Patricia Harris and Lucille Harris, both of Plainfield, N.J.; and several grandchildren.

Pallbearers were members of Beacon Light Lodge 249. Honorary pallbearers were Air National Guardsmen and Friendly Hearts Motorcycle Club members.

VGCC faculty and staff extend our sympathies to his family.