Dr. Edgar Goodbar Harris, DDS
Ed passed away peacefully on April 27, 2021 at the age of 87. Ed was born in Temple, but he grew up in Fort Worth which he called home, and attended Poly High School. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Rice University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. He then attended the University of Texas Dental School, which began his lifelong love affair with all things Longhorn. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving from 1961 to 1964 as a Lieutenant in the Dental Corps aboard the USS Oriskany, an aircraft carrier which was deployed in the Pacific. Ed had two children, Jeff Harris and Shannon Harris, during this time with his wife Nancy Winfield.
Upon returning to the US, he settled in Austin where he grew his dental practice and lived for the remainder of his life. He remarried to Patricia Kirkwood in 1973, becoming father to Bruce, her son by previous marriage. Ed and Pat then embarked on a fantastic adventure of life, full of travel, friends, and family.
Ed built his practice in the “Golden Molar” office building, an iconic Austin fixture, and his reputation for telling jokes and putting his patients at ease while pulling their teeth led to a large and successful practice which he finally sold almost 40 years after he started. Ed was the Longhorn football team dentist for many years, and enjoyed bantering with the players and attending games.
Ed loved people, and never tired of saying that he was an extrovert. He and his wife Pat traveled all over the world, visiting over 100 countries together. Ed helped Pat, who owned a travel agency, with group tours, employing his charm and easy manner to make everyone feel comfortable. At home in Austin, the couple were very active socially, as members of the Westwood Country Club and The Headliner’s Club, among others. They also belonged to numerous charitable organizations, and Ed was involved with many of these including the Austin Symphony, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, and the Longhorn Foundation.
Ed also enjoyed his time with his family. He loved being in the outdoors with his children; swimming, boating, water skiing, and having cookouts. He had a wonderful and zany sense of humor, wearing silly t-shirts and hats, and teasing his wife and children and playing mild practical jokes. Into his twenties, his son Bruce was still convinced that Ed was a kung fu master, and all of his kids (and some grandkids) had knots in their heads from having “loose screws” tightened. But Ed also instilled an ethic of hard work and achievement in his children, rising every morning before dawn to faithfully go to work.
Ed is survived by his beloved wife for almost 50 years, Pat of Austin, and his brother Monte Harris of Fort Worth. He is also survived by his son Jeff and daughter-in-law Mandy Harris and their children Kayla and Autumn of Katy, Texas; by his son Bruce and daughter-in-law Maria Ines Raij, and their children Sara and Ben of Pelham, New York; and by his son-in-law Wayne Roberts and his two children, Jack and Katy of College Station, Texas. Ed has joined his beloved daughter Shannon Roberts with the Lord.
Graveside services will be conducted on Friday, May 07, 2021 at 11:00 am CDT at the Lawrenceville City Cemetery with military rites, and may be viewed with the following link: https://www.facebook.com/emmonsmaceysteffey. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution to the charity of your choice. Emmons-Macey & Steffey Funeral Home in Lawrenceville, Illinois is in charge of arrangements.
Please visit www.emmonsmaceysteffey.com to view the tribute and to send condolences.