A childhood friend of mine has passed away from cancer at the age of 56. Richard D. Harris (Rick) of Coopersburg, Pennsylvania went home to be with the Lord on May 16, 2010. I met Rick when my family started attending Bethel Baptist Church in Sellersville, PA back in 1967. Rick and I were both in the 7th grade at that time. He went to the Pennridge school system, while I went to the schools in Quakertown.
He was a gifted athlete. While making a lay-up during a basketball game, Rick's hang time in the air was a beautiful thing to watch. He was Michael Jordan before there was a Michael Jordan. He could run like a cheetah. He was strong and graceful. When it came to team sports, you wanted to be on Rick’s team.
I bet that no one who was present at a Sunday evening church service back in 1969 thought that Rick Harris was going to leave any kind of legacy to future generations. Four or five of us young men were talking during the service when Pastor Harris, Rick’s father, called us out from the pulpit and told us to meet him after the service. Trust me, we did not get a nice talk about leaving a legacy that evening after church.
Rick was a fast driver as a young man. He purchased a Cougar from one of the guys in our youth group. He could fix anything on an automobile back in those days before on-board computers. He was one of the most generous people that I have ever known with his mechanical skills. He helped me so many times with some of the junk cars that I owned in the 1980s. He helped countless others with those God-given skills repair their automobiles.
We “terrorized” our Sunday school teachers (Dr. Delancey, Warren Stafford, Wayne Clymer and the gentle giant Charlie Dietterich) when we were in high school. Mr. D took us to the Collegeville Inn one night for an outing. There is not a time that I go through Harleysville and see the spot where that Rick left his meal on the floor of the church van while on the way home. I guess he had too many frog legs. Rick and I taught a Sunday school class together with Doug Gerhart for two years back in the mid-1980s. Those high school boys showed us the truth of Galatians 6:7. They were a real blessing to me. Many are married today, raising families and leaving a legacy for their children and others.
Although Rick and I never served in the U.S. Navy, we had our “Shipmates” which was the name of our youth group . As Nancy Rist mentioned in her Facebook post, our youth group was the main support system we had since we all went to public schools at that time. Our leaders (Ronnie & Doris Eldridge, Nelson and Blanche Floyd, Bob and Sharon Randall) were all busy raising their own families, but took time for our group. There were Sunday night hymn sings, Spring banquets, Buck-Buck games, Delaware River Canoe trips, the youth bus high-jacking, bowling at Earl Bowl, Ken’s Chicken Den meals and many great memories. These people and events kept us from so much trouble during our teenage years.
Since I heard the news of Rick's passing, I have thought of so many Bethel Baptist people that are now part of the “Hebrews 12:1 Cloud of Witnesses” who are now cheering us on from Heaven. My father died of cancer in 1987. My mother died in December 2009 of ALS. Ron Eldridge, Elsie Eldridge, Sam Warden, Marian Carter, Al Godshall, John “Mr. Tootsie Roll” Rosenberger, Warren Stafford, Norm Tamburino, Peter Olivero, Marj Green, Lester Moyer and other Bethel Baptist Church family members have become part of that cloud of witnesses. All of these people always took a moment to ask me how I was and what I was doing. Some gave loving course corrections. They challenged and encouraged me to keep on going forward and to serve the Lord. They all died “with their boots on” serving their Lord. Now Rick has joined them and is saying to us all: “Keep going, don’t quit, serve the Lord, and serve others. We will see you again very soon. You will not believe what God has prepared for you beyond the final finish line.”
Rick married Betty back in 1973. She was a Quakertown girl. They had four children of their own and countless foster children. My wife Darlene and I extend our prayers and thoughts to Betty, their children, Pastor and Mrs. Harris, and Rick's siblings Barbara, Al, Mel, Cindy, Becky and Cathy.
To his two sons, Richard and Nathan, I have walked in your shoes. My father died at the age of 55 after a long battle with cancer. Back in 1987, I was 32 years old which is very close to what age you are at this time. My father was my best friend. He always had food on the table for us, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. Your father would try to take my Dad on in a “muscle” contest, but since my father was a combat vet of the Korean War and also a prisoner guard, he would usually subdue your father with some crazy hold or threaten to hit Rick with a blackjack. Take care of your mother. Keep close to your sisters. Raise your children for the Lord. Know that your Dad loved you very much. In our last meeting at the Perkiomenville Flea Market last fall, your father told me all about what you were doing with your lives. He was very proud of you.
Rick ran a great race by God’s grace. He was a real blessing to my life, and I thank God for letting me call Rick Harris one of my friends. I will see him again.


