Wilton Elmo Harris

Mr. Wilton Elmo Harris, 93, went to be with the Lord on August 4, 2018. Mr. Harris was born on September 3, 1924 in the Moulton community in Franklin County, North Carolina. He was the third child of Morton Stapleton Harris and Mamie Belle Clark Harris. Whitty drove the school bus while attending Gold Sands High School. It was there he met his wife, Dorothy Elizabeth Jones. They were married for sixty-five years until her death in 2009. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland, he attended cooking and baking school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was followed by amphibious training on a mock Landing Ship Transport (LST) in Little Creek, Virginia and training on identification of Japanese aircraft. His training also included gunnery practice in Chicago, Illinois before boarding LST 590 in Evansville, Indiana. The LST sailed down the Mississippi River, through the Panama Canal, and across the equator heading to the Philippines. At the end of his tour of duty, Whitty was honorably discharged as a Ship’s Cook First Class, an achievement that brought him lifelong pride. After the War, he returned home to farm the family land. Wishing for a career other than farming, Whitty moved to Raleigh with his wife and young son to begin a thirty-five year career as a driver with Greyhound Bus Company. Throughout his life, Whitty had a love of saltwater fishing. He and Dorothy enjoyed fishing on the pier at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. They also collected antiques from sales, shops, and flea markets. Whitty developed a real talent for refinishing antique pieces which are treasured today by his family. Whitty and Dorothy took great pleasure in their two granddaughters and their three great-grandchildren. They were members of Six Forks Baptist Church and later members of Crabtree Valley Baptist Church. After moving to Heritage Woods Retirement Community in Winston-Salem in 2010, Whitty became a member of First Baptist Church. Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Dorothy, his sister Marian Senora Harris Harris, his brother Russell Perry Harris, his sister Lillian Mae Harris Roberts, and his son Reverend Edgar Arnett Harris. He is survived by his two granddaughters, Laura Harris Judy and her husband Charles, Mary Margaret Harris Douglas and her husband Stewart; his great-grandchildren, William Harris Judy, Mary Madeline Douglas, and Spencer Stewart Douglas; his daughter-in-law, Mary Nell Stem Harris; and his nieces, Rachel House, Bettie Guthrie, and Kay Bennett. A graveside service will be conducted at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, August 8 by Reverend Amy McClure at Montlawn Memorial Park. Memorials may be sent to First Baptist Church, 501 W. Fifth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 or to a charity of one’s choice.