Ronney Dean Harris

RONNEY DEAN HARRIS 1932 - 2023“

“I was born on September 8, 1932 while my parents were living in an apartment above the hospital on the east side of Tremonton, Utah. We moved to Brigham City in the fall of 1935 when dad took a job as baseball coach at Box Elder High School After attending elementary, junior and senior high school, I graduated in the spring of 1950. My education continued at the University of Utah in Electrical engineering. At the start of my junior year I received an invitation to be a soldier in the Korean conflict. A letter from the dean of engineering got me a deferment which allowed me to go to Officer Candidate school in the Navy. After commissioning was sent to two schools in Memphis, Tennessee then to the western Pacific under Admiral Andersen, Commander Taiwan Patrol Force, for 3 years. Our ships jogged about the Pacific from Okinawa to Hong Kong and Phillipines, to ensure the Chinese community stayed on the mainland. My best girl, LuAnn Secrist became my wife in the Logan Temple March 4, 1955. 4 children resulted from this union: Paul, Chad, Stephanie and Susan. On Okinawa we weathered several sever typhons.”

“At the start of winter 1958 quarter I was enrolled in a PhD program under the GI bill at the University of Utah. That program ended in August of 1964 when I accepted a position at Utah State University (USU). When I started I worked for Larry Cole and with Clayton Clark on long but needed communications. The computer became widely used during a 2 week break later. I set out to model the atmospheric disturbance that accompanied the Auriora Borealis. I had 29 publications and 5 Research Interests.”

“We went on a senior mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Fort Lauderdale and weathered 2 hurricanes. After a number of weeks at home we proceeded to Kalamazoo (yes, there is a real town) for a teaching mission (CES) at Western Michigan University. Since we left the Michigan Lansing Mission we have been serving in the Family History Library and growing old.”

Ron greeted a sister, Mary Jo, at age six. He gathered money for the war bonds at his grade school and was the traffic guard captain, passed papers and was the seventh grade class secretary. He played the snare drums and said this kept everyone in step at parades in early years. He was the Boy’s League secretary in high school.

In the 8th grade, athletics became Ron’s life. He was all-state end in football in 1950 and they also won the baseball championship the same year. He was honored as the “Best All Around Athlete of Box Elder High School 1949-1950.” He played baseball for Weber College, University of Utah and was on the Navy team . He was in the electrical college at the U of U and was on the Jr. Prom committee as the electrician. The Jr. Prom was held in the rotunda of the State Capital.

Ron was the Box Elder Valedictorian of his 1950 graduation class and also Valedictorian of the University of Utah Engineer’s schools in 1954. He belonged to the Pi Kappa Alpha, Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu and Key from Theta Tau Fraternity as U of U outstanding graduate Engineer student. Ron graduated from the Officer Candidate School in Rhode Island in February 1955 as a Navy Ensign. As Okinawa was the home port for the Admiral’s flag ship, LuAnn was able to join him there. The ship stayed away whenever the typoons came to the island which was quite often. Ron was discharged November 1957 at Treasure Island.

Ron was on the Utah State University Engineer faculty from the fall of 1964 until he retired thirty-three years later on May 1997. At that time he was appointed and served on the Logan City Power Board. As stated he had 29 publications, 5 Research Interests and Potential Applications – Electron Beam design, Space Plasma research, Microwave systems, Microwave Integrated circuits, and Antennas and Space Vehicle telemetry systems.

Biographical Sketch: 1954 Hughes Aircraft Company, 1956-58 Electonic counter-Measures Officer, U.S. Navy; 1958-59 Design Engineering Montgek Associate ; 1964-1997 Electrial Engineering department, USU; 1971-72 Research Fellow, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado; 1973 Associate Department Head; 1979 Promoted to full Professor; 1981 U.S. Air force Office of Scientific Research; Summer Research Fellowship, Bedford, Massachusetts; 1983-84 Design of Airbourne Transmitter/Receiver for Drone Aircraft – Digital Design and Management; 1985 Negotiated gift of HP 8510 to University State; 1987 Senior Member – IEEE; 1987 Consulted with Sperry – Utah on GaAs MMIC chips; 1988 Negotiated gift of EEsof’s Microwave design software to university; 1994 Negotiate HP’s electromagnetic simulation software to university.

Music was always important to Ron and he played the organ in his various wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, temple and missions. Ron was basketball coach for church games, teacher in Young Mens, Priesthood and Sunday School, was Sunday School president, Elder’s Quorum president, a ward librarian and was on the student stake high council, counselor and a student ward bishop. He spent 30 years in the Boy Scout program – receiving the Scouter Award as a Boy Scout, Scouter Key, Scouter Training Award, Coaches Key, District Award of Merit, Wood Badge and the Silver Beaver in February 1992.

Ron was an active Kiwanis, taught a senior project class after retirement, took other university classes, had clarinet lessons, played tennis, was a Miss Utah judge for a year, build an addition on his house and some furniture, fished and enjoyed the Glenn Miller Dinner Dance with various friends each year.

He and LuAnn enjoyed travelling and visited many countries and most US states. While visiting Vietnam they met a young man who wanted to join the church and brought him to American so he could and gave him an education.

While on the mission to Fort Lauderdale Ron received the ‘Greater Miami and Keys’ plaque on April 2, 2006 for his dedication during the hurricane season of 2005.

Ron is survived by his loving wife, LuAnn, and children son Paul (Kathy), son Chad (Catherine), daughter Stephanie (Joel) Allred, and daughter Susan (Vern) Gnehm; 18 grandchildren and 37 great grandchildren and sister Mary Jo Bard and brother -in-law Tom Bard. Proceeding Ron in death include his parents, Vernald and Bertha Harris, Floyd and Dorothy Jensen and Don Secrist (in-laws), Ryan Harris, (grandson), and Cole Slavin (great grandson).

A viewing will be held on Friday May 5th 2023, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Allen Hall Mortuary at 34 E. Center St. Logan, Utah 84321. There will also be a viewing from 9:30 – 10:30 am on Saturday, May 6th followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am. On May 6th both the viewing and funeral service will be held at the Lundstrom Park 3rd Ward located at 1260 North 1600 East in Logan. Interment will be in the Logan City Cemetery following the funeral.