Gerald Robert Harris was born in Fullerton, to Joyce Berry Harris, beloved kindergarten teacher, and Bert Harris, pharmacist, and owner of Harris Drug Store.
As a child, Gerry showed a great interest in "how things work". He enjoyed assembling his own crystal set radio, helped his uncle, Robert Berry, build a sportscar, and often filled the Harris' home garage with cars he was either dismantling or reassembling. As a teenager, Gerry used his car to deliver packages for his dad's store and he serviced other people's cars in his job at Ferdie Baretta's service station. Upon graduation from FUHS in 1961, he entered the Don Martin Radio School where he earned his Federal Communications license. He worked for a time as a disk jockey at a radio station in Long Beach.
While seeking a job with more opportunities, he applied at the Shell Oil company in LA. There he began work in the mailroom and soon advanced to their Wilmington facility where he was trained in data processing on a "state of the art" Univac computer, which in those days was the size of a bus. During his 37 years with Shell in Wilmington and in Houston, the computers would grow smaller while Gerry's responsibilities became greater. For recreation in keeping with his love of vehicles, he bought himself a 1987 Corvette and an outboard speed boat. When he retired in 2002, he returned to Newport Beach, where his parents then lived. He diligently oversaw their well-being until his dad passed away at 98 and his mom at 100.
As a child, Gerry showed a great interest in "how things work". He enjoyed assembling his own crystal set radio, helped his uncle, Robert Berry, build a sportscar, and often filled the Harris' home garage with cars he was either dismantling or reassembling. As a teenager, Gerry used his car to deliver packages for his dad's store and he serviced other people's cars in his job at Ferdie Baretta's service station. Upon graduation from FUHS in 1961, he entered the Don Martin Radio School where he earned his Federal Communications license. He worked for a time as a disk jockey at a radio station in Long Beach.
While seeking a job with more opportunities, he applied at the Shell Oil company in LA. There he began work in the mailroom and soon advanced to their Wilmington facility where he was trained in data processing on a "state of the art" Univac computer, which in those days was the size of a bus. During his 37 years with Shell in Wilmington and in Houston, the computers would grow smaller while Gerry's responsibilities became greater. For recreation in keeping with his love of vehicles, he bought himself a 1987 Corvette and an outboard speed boat. When he retired in 2002, he returned to Newport Beach, where his parents then lived. He diligently oversaw their well-being until his dad passed away at 98 and his mom at 100.
Gerald Robert Harris was born in Fullerton, to Joyce Berry Harris, beloved kindergarten teacher, and Bert Harris, pharmacist, and owner of Harris Drug Store.
As a child, Gerry showed a great interest in "how things work". He enjoyed assembling his own crystal set radio, helped his uncle, Robert Berry, build a sportscar, and often filled the Harris' home garage with cars he was either dismantling or reassembling. As a teenager, Gerry used his car to deliver packages for his dad's store and he serviced other people's cars in his job at Ferdie Baretta's service station. Upon graduation from FUHS in 1961, he entered the Don Martin Radio School where he earned his Federal Communications license. He worked for a time as a disk jockey at a radio station in Long Beach.
While seeking a job with more opportunities, he applied at the Shell Oil company in LA. There he began work in the mailroom and soon advanced to their Wilmington facility where he was trained in data processing on a "state of the art" Univac computer, which in those days was the size of a bus. During his 37 years with Shell in Wilmington and in Houston, the computers would grow smaller while Gerry's responsibilities became greater. For recreation in keeping with his love of vehicles, he bought himself a 1987 Corvette and an outboard speed boat. When he retired in 2002, he returned to Newport Beach, where his parents then lived. He diligently oversaw their well-being until his dad passed away at 98 and his mom at 100.
As a child, Gerry showed a great interest in "how things work". He enjoyed assembling his own crystal set radio, helped his uncle, Robert Berry, build a sportscar, and often filled the Harris' home garage with cars he was either dismantling or reassembling. As a teenager, Gerry used his car to deliver packages for his dad's store and he serviced other people's cars in his job at Ferdie Baretta's service station. Upon graduation from FUHS in 1961, he entered the Don Martin Radio School where he earned his Federal Communications license. He worked for a time as a disk jockey at a radio station in Long Beach.
While seeking a job with more opportunities, he applied at the Shell Oil company in LA. There he began work in the mailroom and soon advanced to their Wilmington facility where he was trained in data processing on a "state of the art" Univac computer, which in those days was the size of a bus. During his 37 years with Shell in Wilmington and in Houston, the computers would grow smaller while Gerry's responsibilities became greater. For recreation in keeping with his love of vehicles, he bought himself a 1987 Corvette and an outboard speed boat. When he retired in 2002, he returned to Newport Beach, where his parents then lived. He diligently oversaw their well-being until his dad passed away at 98 and his mom at 100.
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