He was born on Nov. 2, 1925, to the late Odie and Lillian Harris. He graduated from Canton McKinley High School in 1943 where he was Captain of the football team. Upon graduating, he received a football scholarship to The Ohio State University, where he played briefly under Paul Brown. He served as a Naval Aviation Machinist from 1944-1946. In 1948, he married his high school sweetheart, Viola Borom. To this union two children were born, Sonya and Pamela. He attended auto mechanic school and followed in his father's footsteps, opening his own auto shop. This was the start of a long business career as an auto mechanic. In 1951, he took the position as the third African-American to be hired in the Canton City Schools as a custodian. Over the years he held the positions of Boiler Operator and Assistant Chief Custodian to the Administrative Supervisor of Plant Operations. His final position was as Interim Director of Business Affairs before retiring in 1989 after 37 1/2 years of service with the Canton City Schools. In 1961, he partnered with two friends and they became the first black developers known as Triangle Associate, Inc. They sold lots. For the purpose of building homes and developed Woodland Park Estates which is still flourishing today. As a young man, he played semi-pro basketball for the Canton Cushites and semi-pro football with the Canton Bulldogs. Recently, he was inducted into the Stark County Basketball Hall of Fame. He is a lifetime member of the Canton Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, member of the Canton Negro Oldtimers where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame, member of American Legion Post 204, member and past president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Club, member and past treasurer of the Canton Martin Luther King Commission, served on the United Way Board of Trustees, the Canton City Schools Employee Investment Committee, and the Board of Canton City Schools Federal Credit Union. He was a lifetime member of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, where he served on the Board of Trustees, Finance Committee, and was a member of the Male Chorus. This was not the life of an ordinary man, but an extraordinary man with a passion for life, his family, and caring for others. He was preceded in death by his parents, Odie and Lillian Harris; wife Viola; brother, Tom Harris and step-sister, Penny Misner.
He is survived by his daughters, Sonya Grant of Twinsburg, Ohio, Pamela Garrett of Gahanna, Ohio; grandsons, Roger Garrett III and William Grant III of Atlanta, Ga.; granddaughters: Tia Goodlett and Alicia Garrett of Columbus, Ohio; great-grandchildren, Mia and Terrance Goodlett; sisters-in-law, Juanita Mack and Kathryn Borom of Canton; brother-in-law, Raymond Borom of Akron; step-brother, Cecil Ayers of Washington, D.C.; step-sister, Vera Johnson of Columbus, Ohio; special friend, Delores Plummer of Canton; and a host of nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.