Freeland Harris, 85, passed away Sunday, Nov. 13, at the Community Hospice Jane and Bill Warner Center for Caring in Fernandina Beach, surrounded by his family.
Born in Madisonville, Ky., on Nov. 24, 1930, Freeland Harris was the only son and second of three children born to Freeland F. and Georgie Elizabeth Myers Harris.
His elementary and high school years were completed in Madisonville and, in September 1948, Freeland entered the University of Kentucky College of Engineering, having been granted a Kentucky Highway Department scholarship. 1948 was the first year the Kentucky Highway Department awarded such scholarships. Freeland began his college career majoring in civil engineering, but that career path was interrupted by the Korean Conflict. In April 1951, Freeland began military service in the United States Navy (Sea Bees), serving as a carpenter in base construction with the Construction Battalion MCB8 and MCB4 – Atlantic Fleet. His tour of duty took him to Newfoundland, Cuba and French Morocco before his honorable discharge in April 1955 as petty officer 1st class.
In September 1956, Freeland re-entered the University of Kentucky as a junior majoring in civil engineering. While completing his bachelor’s degree, he was employed part-time as a designer/draftsman in the Kentucky Department of Highways’ Branch Bridge Office located in the Engineering Quadrangle. In 1957, Freeland was inducted into the Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in January 1958 with a major in structural engineering. In that same month, Freeland was employed as an engineer-in-training with Leggett & Irvan Consulting Engineers of Lexington, Ky., a professional practice that included the design of structures for schools, office buildings and highway bridges.
Also in January 1958, Freeland entered a master’s degree program at the University of Kentucky College of Engineering and, in May 1960, was awarded a Master of Science in civil engineering with a major in structural engineering.
Freeland became licensed as a professional engineer by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in May 1960. In 1962, his professional career was directed to the Army Corps of Engineers as a field engineer for the construction of the Barkley Lake Dam, Powerhouse and Canal Bridge.
In April 1965, Freeland organized his private engineering practice in Madisonville as Freeland Harris Consulting Engineers. Originally, the practice encompassed primarily the structural design of educational facilities. In 1981, the office was relocated to Bowling Green, Ky.; in 1988, the office became headquartered in Lexington. In 1981, and continuing to the present, the design practice for Freeland Harris Consulting Engineers has encompassed primarily the structural design of industrial facilities for the global design-build market. In 1991, an additional office was established in Atlanta. After 1995, Freeland continued practicing as a consultant to FHCE KY and FHCE GA. A third office, located on Amelia Island, was established in 2005, and from the Florida location he continued to practice full-time as a structural consulting engineer. In 2012, Freeland was awarded the Civil Engineering Career Achievement Award by the University of Kentucky College of Engineering. In 2016, at the age of 85, Freeland retired from the practice of structural engineering. Mr. Harris was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Steel Construction, American Concrete Institute and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
He was also a member of the Madisonville Noon Kiwanis Club.
For many years, Freeland was a Sunday school teacher and deacon in the Baptist church. Freeland was most recently a member of Fernandina First Baptist Church in Fernandina Beach and participated at Amelia Baptist Church. He was a member of the Friday Men’s Bible Study group at Amelia Baptist Church. He was a member of the Cecil Brewton Life Group of Fernandina First Baptist Church.
Freeland has enjoyed three hobbies through the years: sailing, cycling and University of Kentucky basketball. Go Cats!
Mr. Harris leaves behind his wife of 58 years, Patricia Brown Harris of Amelia Island; his children, Dan Owen Harris and his wife, Ginger, of Hickory, N.C., Susan Hall Harris Massey and her husband, Hank, of Suwannee, Ga., Lee Ellen Harris Marmon and her husband, Craig, of Atlanta, and Edward Freeland Harris and his wife, Leigh, of Atlanta. The family also includes eight grandchildren known as “The Grand Eight.” The grandchildren are Georgianna Harris, Rachel Harris, Lauren Massey, Sarah Massey, Andrew Marmon, Harris Marmon, Will Harris and John Harris. Freeland is also survived by two sisters, Beverly Harris Dockrey and her husband, D.W. Dockrey, and Jeanette Harris Yates and her husband, Morris Yates.
Funeral services will be held at the Barnett-Strother Funeral Home in Madisonville at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. The family will receive friends in Madisonville from 4-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, and on Saturday an hour before the service.
In Fernandina Beach, the family will receive visitors at Fernandina First Baptist Church from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 22. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Fernandina First Baptist Church or Amelia Baptist Church.