2008.10.29
Former Floyd mayor dies
Vernon T. Harris, former mayor and town council member of Floyd and longtime co-owner of Harris Cleaners with his wife, Cornelia, died Monday. He was 96.
He was always teasing his daughters, Judy and Connie, and playing jokes, like the time he put red spots on his mother-in-law’s glasses and told her everyone had the measles, said Connie Mitchell, Harris’ daughter.
“He was such a fun-loving man,” Mitchell said. “He would always tease and have a good time but he always had such a sense of community and cared about people too.”
Harris served on the Floyd town council from 1948 to 1951 and as mayor of Floyd from 1963 to 1970, but was probably most well known for owning Harris Cleaners. The Harrises ran the store for 58 years, closing it in 1997 to retire.
"He could just make your day. He always had a smile on and had a little tale for you," said Vernon Baker, owner of Harris and Baker Furniture in Floyd, who knew Harris from the Ruritan Club and other activities around Floyd. "If he had an enemy in this town I don’t know who it is."
