Robert Edward, "R.E.", Harris, 95, of Roanoke passed away on January 31, 2021. He was born on October 31, 1925 in Roanoke, Texas to Henry and Parrette (Blakley) Harris.

R.E. was a member of the Greatest Generation and men like him are why it's called that.  As a little boy during the Great Depression, he helped support his family by picking cotton and working in a grocery store.  Still a teenager, he went to Germany to fight in World War II where he was a member of the Fighting 69 ^th Infantry Division.  He returned home to marry the love of his life, Mary, and build a home in the town where he'd grown up.  He became a father in 1955 and his daughter, Donna, was the light of his life.  When R.E. and his wife retired from the U.S. Postal Service after nearly 25 years, they traveled to Colorado every summer to spend time together and with friends.  They'd take his "rotten dog", Gidget, with them and she became a summertime fixture in the RV parks they frequented.  R.E. was a member of the Roanoke Masonic Lodge 668 for 70 years.  Everywhere he went, a good time followed.  The folks he met were never strangers for long.  He was always sure he could make them laugh and he was usually right.

R.E. was a lifelong Democrat and he passed those values down to his daughter and grandchildren. He taught us that we have a responsibility to take care of one another.  He gardened until he couldn't walk anymore, and then he did it from his riding mower, to be sure his neighbors had the fresh fruits and vegetables they needed.  He taught us that you will cherish something old and broken, that you can repair yourself, more than anything you can buy new.  He taught us that, in relationships, it's the little things that matter most – we never saw our grandmother have to fix her own tea because he always sweetened it for her, just the way she liked it.

R.E. loved hot coffee, hot peppers, Blue Bell ice cream, playing 42, cracking jokes, and, most of all, he loved Mary.

He is survived by his wife of almost 74 years, Mary Harris, of Roanoke, daughter, Donna Pavelek of Denton, and grandchildren: Brian Pavelek and his wife Francie and their daughters Corina and Clementine; Melissa Boyd and husband Andy and their children Lily and Henry Harris; and Dustin Pavelek and wife Julie and their children Carson and Emily.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, and sisters, Fay Alexander and Marilou McIntyre.

R.E.'s family would like to thank Russinder, Nyasha, Abigail, Stephanie, and Esther for their care and compassion.  R.E.'s time at the Glencairn House allowed him to live, and die, with dignity and we will be forever grateful for the care provided by Liberty Senior Residential Care Homes.

Private funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2021 in the Chapel of DeBerry Funeral Directors in Denton, Texas. Interment will follow at Medlin Cemetery in Trophy Club, Texas, on the land R.E. farmed as a boy.