Lawrence E. Harris, 85, formerly of Austin, Minn., born April 22, 1928, in Mason City, Iowa, passed away on Monday evening, April 29, 2013, in Sun City West, Ariz.

Lawrence Earl Harris was born to William Earl Harris and his second wife, Martha (Johnson), in Mason City, Iowa, on April 22, 1928. Lawrence was the fourth of five children born to William Earl. Lawrence’s brothers and sisters were Myrtle, Marie (Everhart), Warren Glen Harris, Frederick Arthur Harris and Ella Mae (Carberry).

Lawrence’s second great-grandparents, William T. Harris and Mary Ann (Warmington), emigrated from Cornwall, England, to Wisconsin around 1848. Lawrence’s mother, Martha, and his grandparents, Alfred Johansson (changed name to Johnson arriving in the U.S.) and Maria (Lorentzson), emigrated from Sweden to Illinois when Martha was about three months old in 1900.

Lawrence was raised in and around the Mason City area. His father, who went by his middle name of Earl, farmed just southwest of Mason City and later near Clear Lake until he died of heart failure when Lawrence was only 13 years old. For about a year, Lawrence continued to farm with his mother. Then, for almost two years, he farmed with relatives. When he was 16, Lawrence was hired by the Milwaukee Railroad, from which he retired in 1984 at Mason City, Iowa.

Lawrence married Betty Jane Cogill, daughter of Benjamin Leroy and Christina (Fjeldstadt) Cogill, on Sept. 8, 1946, at Riverside Park in Independence, Kansas. Lawrence and Betty have three children, Barbara Jean Poindexter, Linda Sue Harris, and William Earl Harris. Lawrence and Betty moved to Austin, Minn., in 1954 when the Milwaukee Railroad transferred Lawrence there. In July 1969, when the Milwaukee Railroad closed down operations in Austin, Lawrence and Betty were transferred to Aberdeen, S.D. Around July/August 1982, the Milwaukee Railroad transferred Lawrence and Betty from Aberdeen back to Mason City, where he retired. Lawrence enjoyed building things. He had many of his own tools to build things. Over the years, he built several homes, garages, barns, and renovated some homes, too.

In 1973, Betty and Lawrence became empty nesters. They flew to tour Europe in July 1978, visiting Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, England and the Netherlands. After Lawrence retired in 1984, he enjoyed more than 25 years of retirement life with Betty, in their recreational vehicle, traveling all over the U.S. They enjoyed bowling, fishing, crafting, playing cards and Betty playing her piano/keyboard organ. In 2008, Betty and Larry gave up the RV life and settled in the Phoenix, Ariz., area.

Lawrence and his wife, Betty, were married nearly 65 years when she preceded him in death on May 6, 2011. He is survived by their three children, Barbara, of Carrollton, Ga.; Linda, also of Carrollton; and Bill (wife Debra Ann), of Glendale, Ariz.; three grandchildren, Davin Leslie Auble, of Quincy, Mass.; William Earl Harris, Jr. (wife Nicole Marie) of Marietta, Ga.; and Christina Kay Steinke (husband Craig) of Buckeye, Ariz.; step-great granddaughter Naomi Marie Dean, great-granddaughter Dylan Nicole Harris and great-grandson William Easton Harris, all three of Marietta; great-grandson Jack Edward Steinke, of Buckeye; sister-in-law Carmen D. Soule, of San Francisco, Calif.; several nieces and nephews.

Lawrence passed from complications of acute renal failure, further complicated by diabetes and cancer, on Monday evening, April 29, 2013, at Hospice of Arizona in Sun City West, Ariz. It was his desire not to have a memorial and it was his wish to be cremated.