HARRIS, Steven Hal

Copper Basin News Hayden, Az. 21 March 2012 Steven Hal Harris, born April 5, 1957 in Globe, passed away on March 4, 2012, in Palm Desert, California. He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary Alice Gillaspy Harris, and his aunt, La Nell Harris Hayes. Surviving him are his son, Aaron (Carly) Eugene, one grandson, two granddaughters of Washington; his father, Buddy Hal (Judy) Harris of Tucson; his brother, Kenneth (Debbie) Eugene, two nieces, Amy Jo (Richard), one grandnephew, Noah; Katie Lynn, one grandniece Ryland, all of Richland, North Carolina; stepsister, Sandi (Kevin) Bonniwell, one niece Reagan, one nephew Chase, all of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is also survived by his caregiver and significant other of 15 years, Jean Wyman of Palm Springs, California; numerous uncles, aunts, cousins and friends from Arizona and California. Steve moved to Kearny with his family in 1960 and attended K-12. He excelled in baseball and basketball. He married Anne Nelson in 1975. Tragedy struck August 4, 1975 when he dove into the Gila River and broke his neck against the swift current. That was 36 years ago. No one expected him to live through the night, later changing that to five years. As you can see, he proved everyone wrong. Steve, along with his wife and toddler, moved to Fresno. There, Annie left with their son, leaving Steve alone. His parents moved to Fresno, where his mother took over his care. They moved to Blythe, California, where Steve attended Junior College. He received an Associate’s Degree in accounting and an IBM computer award. He tutored computer classes and was instrumental in getting the college disability grants for improvements to handicap accesses. In 1997, when Steve began to need more medical care and be near a major hospital, he moved to Palm Desert with a caregiver. He lost his battle with the many illnesses that plague a full quadriplegic. They don’t normally live as long as he did, but, then, they weren’t Steve Harris. He touched many lives everywhere he went. There will be no services. He was cremated and his ashes will be scattered in several different places.