Richard Walter Harris

On April 12, 2021, after a battle with congestive heart failure and kidney disease, RICHARD WALTER HARRIS, joined his beloved wife Kathleen Marie Harris in eternal life.

Richard was born on November 24, 1941, in Arlington, MA, to the late Richard Walter (Wally) Harris, Jr. and Marjorie Henrietta Harrington Harris. He grew up in Washington, DC, and graduated from Gonzaga College High School. He received his BA degree from Georgetown University.

Following graduation from Georgetown, Richard taught English at Mater Dei School in Bethesda, MD, where he also coached football and baseball and ran the school’s summer camp. In 1968, he began his career in the federal government, joining the then Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. From 1981-1999, he was the Director of the Administrative Services Center in the Department of Health and Human Services.

After retirement, Richard returned to teaching and tutoring English at the College of Southern Maryland. He also was an active member of the Bowie community for over 40 years. He volunteered at Sacred Heart Church as a CCD teacher for 22 years and was a member of the History Committee. He also worked at S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat) in Washington, DC, coached softball, basketball, and soccer for the Bowie Boys and Girls Club, and served as a board member of Whitehall Pool and Tennis Club, where he was an avid tennis player. Later in life, he enjoyed playing golf and following his favorite sports teams, the Washington Football Team and the Washington Nationals. He made many life-long friends from his school years, federal career, and church and community activities and often commented that “whatever you do in life, it’s more about the people you do it with than anything else.”

Richard is survived by his daughter Karen Gorirossi and her partner Kevin McGowan of Rockville, MD; his daughter Christine Rodriguez and her husband Marvin Rodriguez of Crofton, MD; grandchildren Joseph Gorirossi and his wife Donnielle Gorirossi of Berlin, MD; Mark Miller and his partner Diana Kim of Crofton, MD; and Patrick Gorirossi and his fiancé Grayson Owen of Bowie, MD; and sisters-in-law Patricia Allen Booth of Fairfax, VA, and Mary Ellen Leachtenauer of Charlottesville, VA. In addition to his wife Kathleen and his parents, Richard was preceded in death by his mother-in-law Bridget Agnes Kevilly and his father-in-law Raymond Kevilly.

Visitation will be held at Beall Funeral Home in Bowie, MD, from 6:00-8:00pm on Monday, April 19, 2021. Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to S.O.M.E. at https://www.some.org/