Philip (Phil) Donald Harris
OBITUARY
Philip Donald Harris passed away August 9, 2026 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. His legacy lives on through the people he loved, the friendships he made, the communities he was part of, the many lives he touched along the way.
On January 27, 1940 he was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Marjorie (née Traill) and Edwin Harris. During his formative years, Phil spent summers at Kilcoo Camp north of Toronto, first as a camper, later as a counselor and subsequently went back for some camp reunions when he lived in California. As an older student, he received his Business degree from Ryerson in Toronto.
In 1971 he married Louise (Lee) Kierman. They shared a love of working hard, traveling, skiing, playing tennis, golfing, gourmet cooking, drinking espresso or fine wine, listening to jazz music and loving their cats!
With their son JP, Phil and Lee moved to Tahoe City, California in 1973 where they lived for many years and opened their first kitchen store, “The Cooking Gallery”. Their time in Tahoe was very special, filled with many friendships and wonderful memories. After selling the store and traveling around the world, they moved to the San Diego area where they owned and operated their second store, “The Silver Skillet”, in Del Mar. It started as a one-level kitchen store and, over twenty years, evolved into a three-level anchor store for Flower Hill Mall. Phil and Lee made connections with countless customers and the staff became their friends. For their retirement years, they moved to Palm Desert which they thoroughly enjoyed. In 2021, after losing his wife of almost 50 years, Phil moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to be with family.
Volunteer work was important to him even with his other responsibilities: President (1962-63) of Student Council at Ryerson in Toronto; Optimist Club member in Tahoe; President (1997-98) of Del Mar Rotary Club; SCORE Business Mentor in Palm Desert.
Besides his wife, Lee, Phil was predeceased by his parents and his brother-in-law, Norman Capper (Calgary). He is survived by his son, Jean-Patrick (JP) Harris and his wife, Elaine (New Jersey); granddaughter, Gabriella Harris (Virginia); sister, Louise Capper (Calgary); two nieces and their families (Calgary); lifelong friend, David Carruthers (California).