JIll Koster

Dr. Thomas Richmond Harris, 88, passed away on May 19, 2022, while undergoing a surgical procedure in Riverside, California. He was surrounded by his family before the surgery.

[PHOTOS: Dr. Thomas R. Harris. Young Tom Harris on rock]

Tom was born in Long Beach, CA, on September 21, 1933, to Richmond Ralph Harris (born 1909 in Long Beach, CA) and Ellen Crandell (born 1911 in Ann Arbor, MI). As a young boy, he was diagnosed with severe asthma and a cat allergy, so his mother, a cat lover, sent him to a boarding school. Unable to return home on weekends or holidays, Tom was prone to self-pity and had a deep-seated fear of abandonment. But he channeled that energy into his activities; he learned camping and survival skills, could identify birds and plants by their species, took up building model airplanes and woodworking, and became an excellent swimmer.

A local newspaper once wrote about young Tom putting peanut butter on trees to lure animals near him on Christmas. As he matured, Tom became self-reliant and was a natural leader among his peers. In applying himself academically, Tom found that he excelled, building the confidence that would later propel him to success as a doctor and educator.

[PHOTOS: Young Tom Harris with snake. Tom Harris school picture. Army soldier, Tom Harris]

Tom obtained his BA in History in 1955 from Pomona College in Claremont, CA. While there, he spent a formative semester as an exchange student at the historically black Fisk University at the start of the Civil Rights Movement. In the summers, he worked as a firefighter and came to know the Southern Californian mountains and valleys like the back of his hand.

Primarily to please his mother, Tom attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City on a Rockefeller brother’s fellowship from 1955 to 1957. But ultimately, Tom found the answers to his religious questions wanting, and so he left the seminary to pursue pre-med courses at Columbia University.

Tom was drafted into the Army in 1957 and served until his honorable discharge as a “Specialist 4” in 1963. While stationed in Germany, Tom learned German well enough to continue his premed studies at the University of the Saar in Saarbrücken and to obtain his MD magna cum laude in 1965 from the Free University of Berlin. The Berlin wall was erected shortly after he moved to the American sector of West Berlin, and Tom would later fondly recount helping smuggle personal items in and out of Communist-controlled East Berlin.

Tom interned in medicine in Augsburg, Germany, and Tucson, AZ, from 1965 to 1968, before undertaking a pediatrics residency and a neonatology fellowship at Stanford University Hospital from 1968 to 1971.

During his lengthy career as a neonatologist, Tom taught and worked at the following institutions of higher education and medicine:

• In Tucson, AZ: Arizona Health Sciences Center, University Medical Center, The University of Arizona School of Medicine, and Tucson Medical Center (1971-1980);
• In Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah College of Medicine, Primary Children’s Medical Center, and University of Utah College of Nursing (1980-1985);
• In Philadelphia, PA: Temple University School of Medicine and University Hospital (1985-1987);
• In Denver and Grand Junction, CO: University of Colorado School of Medicine and St. Mary’s Hospital (1987-1992); and
• In Phoenix and Yuma, AZ: various hospitals serviced by Neonatology Associates, Ltd., and Yuma Regional Medical Center (1992-2004).

[PHOTOS: Dr. Harris in a NICU. Dr. Harris in his office. Dr. Harris presenting]

Tom is credited with many innovative ways of saving babies, including the transport to tertiary care centers of high-risk pregnant mothers and sick babies in rural areas. He gave hundreds of lectures on neonatal critical care and pulmonary physiology, and his talks received awards for their inventive use of visual aids consisting of diagrams Tom meticulously drew, photographs he took, and tables and charts illustrating data he painstakingly collected. Tom also published 28 scientific articles and five book chapters and served as editor or reviewer of many more.

In 1983 Tom wrote an open letter to then-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD, on the proposed “Baby Doe Law” to defend and protect medical practitioners. From then on, Tom was frequently called on as a source for comment by journalists and medical publications addressing the subject. Tom also served as an expert witness in numerous malpractice and criminal cases involving the untimely death of newborns, usually in support of medical caregivers.

Tom was dedicated to improving neonatal nurse practitioner programs wherever he worked. He was also instrumental in the development and FDA approval of the Bunnell high-frequency jet ventilator; his tireless efforts in gathering data, developing treatment strategies, and founding an annual international conference to exchange ideas for improving this ground-breaking technology have helped save over 200,000 infants to date.

As the recipient of numerous awards and honors, Tom will be remembered at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City as the namesake for the “Harris Care Team” in their Neonatal Critical Care program. He also received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Children’s Health and St. Joseph’s Medical Centers in Phoenix, AZ.

Although medicine was his first love and prioritized above all else, Tom’s personal life was notable too.

While stationed in Germany with the Army in 1959, he met and married a local pediatric nurse, Irmgard Maria Harris (nee: Sporer). Tom and Irmgard traveled Europe extensively: rolling their little VW bug through Italy, attending bullfights in Spain, and smuggling artwork out of Russia. Together they shared two children: Michelle Elizabeth Goetz (nee: Harris), who was born in Tucson, AZ, in 1967 and still resides there with her two children (Aaron James Goetz, 31, and Tyler Mark Goetz, 28); and Mark Richmond Harris, who was born in Tucson, AZ in 1972 and resides there as well.

[PHOTOS: Dr. Harris with colleague. Dr. Tom and Imgard Harris wedding. Dr. Tom with his children]

[PHOTOS: Dr. Harris’ children. Dr. Tom and Patricia Ann Harris. Dr. Tom and Kimhuor Tieng Harris]

Tom later met Susan Louise Dennerly (nee: Ammon), a pediatric nurse in the ICU Nursery at Tucson Medical Center. Susan shared Tom’s love of children, camping, and fishing. Together they had two children: Jared Thomas Harris, born in 1973 in Tucson, AZ, who resides in Denver, CO, with his wife Rene Lynn Harris (nee: Seiler) and their three children (Joshua Jared Harris, 25, Hunter Michael Harris, 21, and Taylor Rene Harris, 19) and grandchildren; and Jill Rochelle Koster (nee: Trumbull-Harris), born in 1975 in Tucson, AZ, who resides in the US Virgin Islands with her husband Scott Allan Koster.

After relocating to Utah, Tom met and married Dr. Claudia Stevens Harris (nee: Harris), a professor of graduate-level business management classes who minored in mathematics. Claudia shared Tom’s love of academia, scholarship, and classical music. Together they shared two children: Alexis Stevens Harris, born in 1975 in Salt Lake City, UT, who resides in Chapel Hill, NC; and Jessica Anne Harris, born in 1981 in Salt Lake City, UT, who resides in New York City.

When that marriage ended, Tom reconnected with Patricia Ann Jensen, an executive secretary who had worked with him in Salt Lake City, UT. Pat had since lost her long-time husband to a protracted illness. With their subsequent union, Tom became the fill-in patriarch of a large and loving Mormon family. Tom and Pat enjoyed many peaceful years together, traveling between Arizona and Utah and overseas, including Germany, Denmark, and New Zealand. When Pat was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Tom spent years studying the illness and lovingly caring for her.

Not one to give up on romance, Tom later married Kimhuor Tieng, mother to Vitou Tieng, born in 1981 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and two other children whom she lost to starvation while work- ing in the killing fields of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Kimhuor came to America in 1994 and worked for many years as a chef. When videotaping and photographing Kimhuor cooking, Tom and she hit it off. Their union in 2015 enabled Tom to immerse himself in an entirely new culture surrounded by another large and loving family. In addition to becoming stepfather to Kimhuor’s son Vitou and his wife Yun Kil Khounphithack, Tom became a grandfather to their three young children (Kanchnatevi Weiran Tieng, 14, Vitou Chen Tieng, 12, and Amrita Tieng, 6) who reside with their parents in Las Vegas, NV.

Together Tom and Kimhuor bought a house in Riverside, CA, with a large gravel pit of a yard and devoted the last seven years of Tom’s life to rehabbing the house and planting hundreds of trees, bushes, plants, and flowers, turning it into a lush garden oasis from the hot Southern California sun.

In his spare time, Tom enjoyed traveling to visit family and going sailing or fishing. He helped his kids with their home improvement and building projects. And Kimhuor introduced Tom to meditation, which, although challenging, brought Tom solace. Tom and Kimhuor frequently hosted family and friends at home until the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Tom’s final project in life was transcribing the over 750 pages of Civil War diary, and letters home written by his great, great grandfather Francis B. Harris while serving in the Union Army. Tom proudly donated the original diary and letters, as well as his thorough transcriptions, to the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA.

[PHOTOS: Dr. Harris and fish. Dr. Harris on skis]

In addition to his life-long struggle with asthma, in 2004, Tom underwent a triple bypass and aortic valve replacement. In 2020, he began coughing up blood periodically due to intermittent bouts of pneumonia. This past December, Tom fell while gardening, causing a gash in his head and significant blood loss, revealing his need for a pacemaker. Tom seemed to be on the mend this Spring until the coughing resurfaced and worsened. Strong antibiotics were prescribed to clear up what appeared to be a lung infection, but on May 17, 2022, Tom began coughing up copious amounts of blood, and a bronchoscopy was scheduled for the following day. That procedure led to discovery of a vascular tumor blocking Tom’s right ventricle. With his heart and kidneys slowly failing, Tom chose surgery to have the tumor removed, knowing full well the risks involved. He insisted that if he were to go on living, it would be only with the full use of his body and intellect. While sedated in surgery, Tom’s lungs collapsed, his blood pressure dropped, and doctors honored his medical directives, allowing him to pass away peacefully on May 19, 2022.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents and former wives, Irmgard Maria Harris, Claudia Stevens Harris, and Patricia Ann Jensen. He is survived by everyone else named herein as well as his older sister Betty Salinas (nee: Harris).

Tom’s loved ones describe him as driven, ambitious, and incredibly disciplined. He was perpetually intellectually curious up to his final hour. An adventurer at heart, he deeply loved and appreciated wildlife and nature. He enjoyed traveling, camping, hiking, skiing, sailing, and birdwatching and was an excellent photographer. He was an avid fly-fisherman and a true artist when it came to fly-tying and the building of custom fly rods. And surprisingly (given his profession), Tom’s penmanship was impeccable, which was greatly appreciated by his clinical colleagues.

No matter the project—whether in his workshop, his garden, writing a letter, or preparing a lecture—Tom took great pride in his work and gave every task his absolute all.

Tom was also honest to a fault, which made him a comically bad poker player but an incredibly accurate historian. Those who knew him well also knew that Tom sometimes did not react well to adversity and could succumb to his temper, though he directed most of his frustration inward and rarely lashed out at others. Thankfully Tom also had a great sense of humor and could laugh about his failings. Tom was deeply intellectual and never shied away from a difficult or complicated subject. On the contrary, he had a knack for spurring meaningful discussions. An ardent Democrat, Tom followed politics closely, volunteered for local and national political campaigns later in life, and was passionate about a woman’s right to choose and other socially liberal causes.

[PHOTOS: Dr. Harris among wild flowers. Dr. Harris in water]

Tom was also a passionate, caring, and sentimental man. Upon his passing, he left each of his six children a box containing the important cards and letters they had exchanged, their school photographs and drawings, school reports and essays, newspaper clippings, and various other childhood mementos. Tom also saved every “thank you” card or letter he received. Since his passing, the letters written by parents of premature or sick babies Tom treated but could not save are particularly moving to his children. Even in the face of unspeakable loss, tens of bereaved parents took the time to praise his heroic effort to provide around-the-clock and fastidious care while keeping a direct, honest, and sincere line of communication and steadfast emotional support and professional guidance.

In sum, Dr. Thomas Richmond Harris loved fiercely, lived independently, and worked tirelessly to build a long and successful career and a diverse and vibrant family. He lived a fascinating and full life and did so his way up until the very end. He was deeply loved and will be sorely missed.

Tom’s ashes will be interred at Riverside National Cemetery on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at 11:30 am. His family and friends are planning a virtual memorial ceremony for what would have been Tom’s 89th birthday: September 21, 2022, beginning at 8 pm Eastern. If you would like to participate in either event, sign up here, and we will be in touch with details.

[More PHOTOS and Tributes from friends and colleagues]