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Obituary from Holman Funeral Home of Ozark – Ozark, Alabama
Mr. Ronald Lee “Skip” Harris, Sr., a resident of Ozark, peacefully went to be with his Lord and Savior Sunday morning, October 12, 2025, at his home. He was 92 years old.
Funeral services for Mr. Harris will be 11:00 A.M. Friday, October 17, 2025, from the First United Methodist Church of Ozark with Reverend Dr. Jason Thrower and Reverend Bobbi Lassiter officiating. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Memory Gardens, Holman Funeral Home of Ozark directing. The family will receive friends in the church Friday from 10:00 A.M. until service time.
Mr. Harris was born near Rolfe, Iowa, on July 30, 1933, to Leon and Viola Harris. With his family he moved to a farm near Everly, Iowa, in 1935. He graduated from Everly High School in 1951, earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Iowa State University in 1955, and a Master’s Degree from Troy University in 1974. Immediately after graduation from Iowa State, Skip entered the United States Marine Corps and served five years on active duty. While in flight school at NAS Pensacola, he met Freddiejo (Sally) Frederickson, and they were married December 29, 1957. After his active duty military service, Skip taught school in Iowa for one year and then was employed by Petroleum Helicopters in Lafayette, Louisiana, for three years where he flew offshore missions to transport oil refinery workers to platforms. In 1964, he and his family moved to Ozark, where he worked as a helicopter test pilot for the maintenance contractor at Fort Rucker for thirty-five years until his retirement in 1999. Skip amassed over 15,000 flight hours during his flying career. Skip’s first wife, Sally, passed away in 1985. In 1986, he married Alma (Chris) Jones White who passed away in 2023. Post-retirement, Skip dedicated fifteen years as a volunteer with the Wiregrass Area Chapter of the American Red Cross participating in numerous disaster assignments across the nation. Skip was a devoted blood donor with the Red Cross donating over 100 pints of blood. Skip was also involved in coaching Dixie Youth Baseball for fourteen years. He was an avid runner and participated in many races, to include marathons. As a longtime member of First United Methodist Church of Ozark, he served as a Sunday School teacher and was on the administrative board. Skip and Chris were also part of the Dothan Ballroom Dance Club until her passing. Skip took great pride in never missing a day of school or work due to illness, attributing it to the grace of God. In addition to his parents, Skip was preceded in death by two sisters, Marjorie Harris and Ardyth Peterson, his brother and sister-in-law Richard and Gloria Harris, brother-in-law Duane Peterson; and two step-sons, Michael White and Scott White.
Surviving family members include his son Ronald Harris, Jr. of Deatsville, daughter Teri Clark of Midland City, son and daughter-in-law Kenneth and Dianne Harris of Auburn, son and daughter-in-law Brian and Kelli Harris of Auburn, daughter and son-in-law Nancy and Bill Gresco of Ozark; step daughter-in-law, Toni Carman (Aaron) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; twelve grandchildren; Matthew Harris (Molly), Anna Marie Schroller (Knox), Melody Locklar (Andrew), Ronald L. “Trey” Harris, III (Rachel), Katy Barnes (Scott), Eric Clark (Hailey), Patrick Harris (Abbie), Hannah Sullivan (Kyle), Andrew Harris (Shelby), Neal Gresco, Kate Gresco (Landon), and Laney Gresco; three step-grandchildren, Alex White, Simon White (Georgia) and Eva Carman; seven great-grandchildren and numerous other family members.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wiregrass Area Food Bank, 382 Twitchell Road, Dothan, Alabama 36303.
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