Robert Lee Harris

<p>Robert Lee Harris taught math for two decades at Petaluma High School, where he also coached golf and helped behind the scenes for other athletic events.</p><p>Harris died Sunday at a San Rafael hospital after a short illness. He was 83.</p><p>In retirement, he especially enjoyed regular visits from four grandchildren who lived in Sonoma County. The grandchildren, who at the time were home-schooled, each took turns spending one day a week with their grandparents in Petaluma.</p><p>“He loved his family,” recalled his wife, Laverna Harris. “They were his life.”</p><p>Harris was born Aug. 20, 1929 in Texarkana, Ark. He had yet to finish high school when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1946. He served aboard the USS Higbee, a destroyer patrolling off the coast of China.</p><p>After his discharge in 1948, he returned to finish high school in Portales, N.M. There he met his future wife. The couple married in 1950.</p><p>Harris received bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern New Mexico University. He spent a decade as a teacher and administrator in Colorado and New Mexico.</p><p>He moved to Petaluma in 1965 to teach at the high school. Over the years he taught virtually every course from basic math to calculus.</p><p>Along with coaching golf, he served as a scorekeeper for the school's basketball games. He also helped oversee the ticket sales and refreshments for basketball and football games.</p><p>He retired in 1988.</p><p>Harris remained active for nearly five decades at Petaluma United Methodist Church, where he once served as a lay leader and a member of the finance committee. He enjoyed golfing, gardening and feeding birds, including a covey of quail that regularly visited his home.</p><p>Along with his wife, he is survived by three children: Rita Crawford of Camas, Wash., Linda McGunagle of Redding and Chuck Harris of Sebastopol; by two brothers, a sister, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.</p><p>A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. February 23 at the Petaluma United Methodist Church, 410 D St. The family prefers memorial contributions to the church or a favorite charity.</p><p>— Robert Digitale</p>