Benny Eugene Harris, 73, of Lafayette, passed away on Monday, November 20, 2023 at his residence.

He was born January 9, 1950, in Gary, IN, to the late Lawrence Dunbar and Mae Nolia (Jamerson) Harris.

Because his father passed away when Benny was 11 years old, he was also raised and strongly influenced by his late grandmother Willy Johnson (fondly called Ghee Ma). Benny was also preceded in death by a brother, Lawrence Harris.

In high school, Benny joined the ROTC, rising to the rank of Cadet Colonel, the top rank for the region. He was also a member of the rifle drill team. After high school, he voluntarily enlisted in the US Army during the Viet Nam War. Through rigorous trials, he qualified for the Army Special Forces (Green Berets). During his basic training, he achieved excellence in marksmanship and also had over 1200 parachute jumps. He served bravely in the Viet Nam theater. After his service, he studied business administration at Purdue University.

As a young man, he loved to experience new things. While a college student, he owned a horse for a while, learned to scuba dive, and earned a pilot’s license. He was known for the chocolate brown Corvette he drove. He met his future wife Nancy Gronendyke on her 21^st birthday. They were married on March 12, 1983 in Lafayette and raised two children, Jessica and James.

Benny worked in home construction for a few years, building custom homes in several prestigious neighborhoods around Lafayette. He joined the Teamster’s Union Local 135 in 1976 and made his career driving dump trucks for construction projects. He often talked about helping to build most of the roads around Lafayette and in Mid-North Indiana. As a Teamster, Benny worked for several trucking companies, rising to be Chief Steward in the union advising other truckers about the details of union rules, contracts, rights, and obligations. His longest employment was with Reith-Riley Construction, retiring in 2017. He was also a member of the Teamster’s National Black Caucus, traveling to attend their national conventions several times.

Benny enjoyed making stained glass items, mowing the grass in his very large yard, and traveling, especially to visit family members and friends in many U.S. locations. He was especially fond of tropical destinations such as St. Croix, Jamaica, and southern Florida. He learned to sail and jokingly claimed to have pirate ancestors.

Benny was the kind of guy who never met a stranger. He could talk to anybody and put them at ease. Everybody wanted to be his friend, and he enjoyed many close friendships.

He will be deeply missed and is survived by his wife, Nancy Harris of Lafayette, his daughter, Jessica (Charles) Hart of Pittsburgh, PA, his son, James Harris of Lafayette, two brothers, Winford Harris of Gary and Clarence Harris of Merrillville and a sister, Veleda (Marvin) Robinson of Merrillville. He was loved by many extended family members on both his and his wife’s side of the family.

Visitation will be from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on Saturday, December 9, 2023 at Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twyckenham Blvd. Lafayette, IN 47909 Memorial contributions may be made in Benny’s name to Purdue Cancer Research.