John HARRIS Obituary

HARRIS, John Gilbert. 67, of Duluth, Minnesota, passed away on May 10, 2015 at the Solvay Hospice House in Duluth, Minnesota. John was born on 1 February 1949 in Pahiatua, New Zealand, and was raised and educated in New Zealand. He took his undergraduate work at the University of Otago, and graduated from the University of Otago Medical School in 1972. He completed an internship and internal medicine training in Christchurch, New Zealand before coming to the United States for a fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the University of Minnesota from 1976 - 1978. Harris was a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the American College of Physicians. After training, Harris dedicated his career to developing and staffing cancer programs in the Midwest. After a year of practice in Gillette, WY, he joined the Dakota Clinic in Fargo, ND from 1979 - 1997. He subsequently worked in Alexandria (1997 - 2006), Duluth (2006 - 2013), and Brainerd (2009 - 2013). Through outreach, he cared for patients in Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids, Thief River Falls, Morris, Hibbing, and Ashland. He was one of the first physicians in the upper Midwest to be board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and he established or was the medical director of Hospice programs in Fargo and central Minnesota. Additionally, he served as faculty at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine, board member of the Minnesota Society of Clinical Oncology, and a clinical trial investigator for the North Central Cancer Treatment Group. John's prolific personal interests included mountaineering, photography, history, cycling, marathon running, skiing, trekking, world traveling, and canoeing. He was member of the New Zealand Alpine Club, and had extensive climbing experience around the world. Later in life he had a passion for adventures in the Minnesota Boundary Waters. John was preceded in death by his father, Norman Gilbert Harris (2001) and is survived by his wife Helen, daughter Rebekkah Allen, son Belden (Venece) Lyman, son Donald (Sara Wilkinson) Harris, and daughter Chrys Harris. He is also survived by 5 grandchildren. In New Zealand, he is survived by his mother Barbara Christine Harris, and sisters Christine (George) Williams and Sandra Brown and many family relations. John is greatly missed by his family and friends, and a private memorial will be held out of state. Final arrangements have been made by the Cremation Society of Minnesota Duluth Chapel. A scholarship at the University of Minnesota Medical School is being created in his memory to fund patient-oriented research to improve quality of care in oncology, palliative care, and/ or geriatrics. Make a gift to the UMN via johngharris.org directly online or by check using the form. Alternatively, donations to the Superior Hiking Trail Association are suggested (PO Box 4, Two Harbors, MN, USA 55616-0004).