JAMES JULIAN HARRIS -

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JAMES JULIAN HARRIS 1923 - 2011 Beloved husband of Gerdur (Garry) Harris (nee Narfason) for 59 years, Jim Harris passed away on December 17, 2011. He leaves behind to keep alive his memory his daughter Dawn (Randy Baldwin) and son Duncan (Marg); grandchildren Amanda Baldwin, and Greg and Tyler Harris; numerous sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, grand and great-grandnieces and nephews of the Narfason clan; and lifelong friend Merle (June) Brown. He was predeceased by his father Fred Alexander Harris, his mother Hortense (Damhout) Harris, his stepmother Florence (Harbord) Harris, and his stepsister Margaret (Sid) Stacey. Jim grew up in Winnipeg in what is now the core area. He completed Grade 10 at Gordon Bell before apprenticing with the Canadian National Railway as carman at the Fort Rouge shops. He enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in 1942 where he served at the R.A.F. base in Dorval and then the newly opened R.C.A.F. base in Mt. Pleasant, PEI as an airframe mechanic and lead aircraftsman where he was responsible for signing off on aircraft heading overseas. After the war, he was made aware of university, something he had never heard of before. He completed his senior matriculation in one year and entered the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1951. When it came time to prepare his thesis, the penniless university student couldn't afford the going rate of 25 cents a page. A mutual friend mentioned Garry might be his typist. Garry agreed to type his thesis at no charge in exchange for a couple of dates. The rest was history; Jim married Garry in August 1952. He regularly told people that free thesis turned out to be pretty expensive. He also discovered, much to his chagrin, he had married the only tea drinking Icelander - but then he was probably the only coffee drinking Englishman. After graduating, Jim moved to Montreal where he was the first Professional Engineer hired by Canadian National Railway with a carman's background. In his early years with the company, he was responsible for the development of the cylindrical hopper-bottomed rail car, now a familiar sight on the prairie landscape. When the Aluminum Company of Canada wanted the railway to switch from steel boxcars to using its product, Jim told its designers to show him something that made use of the flexibility of aluminum. He didn't want to see the same old design. The result was the cylindrical car. CNR management gave the OK, and four prototype cars were built - two for the CNR and two for the aluminum company. That rail car design became an industry standard. Jim progressed in CN management to the position of General Superintendant of Equipment, Great Lakes Region, based out of Toronto. He was seconded twice to the grain industry of Western Canada. Initially he chaired, and then was a member of, a committee of the Canadian Wheat Board charged with bringing a plan to the chaos that was hamstringing grain shipping in the 1960s. The result was the block shipping system in 1970. He later headed up the conversion of the grain industry to the metric system through the Canada Grains Council in the 1970s. Prior to retiring, he was part of a three-person office located in Winnipeg that was the railway's precursor to its grain marketing unit. In his retirement years, Jim participated on the boards of the CN Pensioners Association; the Manitoba Association of Seniors; and the Lindenwood Estates Residents Association. The family would like to thank nurses Diane and Suzanne, Health Care Aides Hina and Justin, Dr. Sharon Wong, and physio Laura. Special thanks are extended to nurse Nada and Diane the Walk Lady for their understanding and compassion. There will be no funeral service; instead a gathering will be held to remember Jim on Tuesday, December 27, 2011 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Neil Bardal Funeral Centre, 3030 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg. All those who would like to visit with the family are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dean's Bursary Fund, The Collegiate, University of Winnipeg, Room 705, 491 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E4.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 24, 2011