MICHAEL HOWARD HARRIS, 72, born on Feb. 8, 1952,
joined his father in Heaven on March 10, 2024.
Michael is survived by his daughter Michelle Cleveland
of Lone Oak, grandson, Colby Cope of Cumby, grandson
Preston Cleveland of Lone Oak, sister Sandra Hunt of
NM, and his favorite dog, Mitchell.
Michael Harris, a southern gentleman was born and
raised in north Texas. He married Elizabeth (Ann)
Davidson in 1970. Michael & Ann moved to the small
town of Sunnyvale where they raised their only
daughter, Michelle. He started pursuing his goals
and joined the Volunteer Fire Service, where he
obtained several certifications including structural
firefighter, EMT, Hazmat specialist, and became the
first Volunteer Licensed Paramedic on the Sunnyvale
Fire Department.
Michael, while serving as a volunteer, pursued many
career paths. During a point in his life, he worked
as an electrical engineer for Lucent, before working
full time as a licensed paramedic until his retirement.
Michael enjoyed helping people and even after his
retirement continued to look for ways to help his
community. Michael was well known in East Tawakoni,
where he moved and lived during the last 15 years
of his journey. People that knew Michael always spoke
to his kind heart and joking ways. You could always
find him around and about with his small dog Maddie
until her passing followed by his new best friend
Mitchell, his beloved dog.
Michael’s grandson, Colby Cope, had the following
things to say about his late grandfather. “Papa was
at once the firmest, but also the most caring person
you would meet. We shared a love for western movies
and most conversations including talking about the
newest movies coming out. Papa was not just my grand-
father; he was my best friend and I’ll miss him every
day. He was one of the people that I could sit and
talk to about everything, no matter the topic, as
long as I had coffee. I know I will see him soon,
but not too soon. Fly high Papa, I’ll take it from
here.”
Michael was an avid fisherman and would often challenge
others fishing with him to see who could catch the
largest fish, problem was always that his bait had
already been gone for twenty minutes. If you ever
fished with him, his favorite saying was “Drop your
linen and start your grinning”, he always believed he
had the best fishing cast in the world. Michael was a
simple man and as such enjoyed simple things. He never
wanted any fuss over his passing and wanted everyone
to live life to its fullest.
In Closing, many people loved Michael “papa” and his
loss has been hard for those closest to him. For his
family, we are shaken by his absence but now look
towards the future, and though we can no longer live
with him, we can now live for him. As papa would
always say “I’m your Huckleberry” and he will forever
be ours.