You couldn’t help but glance toward the tall column somewhere along the left side pews and see this distinguished-looking parishioner seated by his wife on a Sunday morning in this old Presbyterian church with the white steeple towering over Highland Avenue in the heart of Haymount.
Phil Harris just didn’t practice his faith.
Phil Harris lived his faith at the foot of the cross.
“Through the course of Phil’s fourscore and eight years upon this earth runs a singular and exceptional theme, that of service to others—selfless and sacrificial service,” the Rev. Christie Gravely told those on November 22, where Highland Presbyterian Church was filled from front to back with family and friends who came to celebrate and remember the longtime Fayetteville businessman and resident who called this city home.
There was just something about him.
Despite those Hollywood good looks and reserved ways, he never sought the limelight or put himself above others throughout his life. He carried himself with a dignity and a grace all of his days.
It was Phil Harris’ way.
“Whether mentoring emerging leaders, offering a word of affirmation, or simply showing up with steady support, Phil lifted people up—nudging them toward courage, toward leadership, toward believing they mattered,” the pastor said. “He was a patient listener, a wise sounding board, an advisor not just in tasks but in life itself.”
“He was the kind of person who made others feel seen, heard, and capable.”
“His legacy is written not only in the organizations he helped shape, but in the lives he quietly transformed,” Gravely said. “He carried kindness in his posture, grace in his timing, and a deep, steady care that reminded you that you mattered.”
‘He believed in people’ and his community
Phil Harris grew up the younger of two sons to the late Wilson and Hilda Blackmon Harris, who died when he was 3 years old. He attended old Fayetteville High School, where he was a three-sport athlete and student body president, graduating in 1955. And it’s where he met Noel Vossler, the pretty head cheerleader in the saddle oxford shoes. They married December 19, 1959, after he graduated from Wake Forest University and later was commissioned as a second lieutenant in U.S. Army Intelligence and stationed at Fort Benning, Ga.
After his military service, the couple returned to Fayetteville, where they raised four children and Phil Harris worked with his father-in-law, the late George Vossler, who owned Corder-Vossler Tire Co. Harris later worked with North Carolina Natural Gas Co.
“He was deeply involved in numerous civic organizations, not just as a participant but as a quiet force of encouragement and vision,” Gravely said. “He had a way of showing up—not for recognition, but because he believed in people and in the power of community. Whether behind the scenes or at the table, Phil offered his time, his wisdom and his steady presence. He had a gift for seeing potential in others long before they saw it in themselves.”
His civic service included the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, the March of Dimes, United Way of Cumberland County, and the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville, where Harris once served as president, Kiwanis Club Division lieutenant governor, and Carolinas District Governor.
“He was a terrific president to our club, and nobody ever was a better lieutenant governor,” Danny Highsmith said at Friday’s club meeting at the Honeycutt Recreation Center. “And a devoted husband to Noel.”
When the church bells chimed
Beyond the organizations and the nonprofits for Phil Harris was Highland Presbyterian Church. When the church bells chimed on a Sunday morning, you found Phil Harris there.
Nowhere was that legacy more deeply rooted than here in the life of the church,” the pastor said. “For Phil, the church wasn’t just a place he attended, it was the heart of the community he loved, and a sacred space, where his gifts of service, encouragement, and care found full expression. He went from a 14-year-old teenager walking to church of his own will to serving Highland Presbyterian faithfully as an elder, deacon, usher, and Stephen Minister. And I am sure in many other capacities, serving always with humility and grace.”
She reminded us he recently was conferred as elder emeritus.
“Phil’s involvement in the church wasn’t a task to check off or a duty to fulfill,” she said. “It was the natural outpouring of who he was. Ministry wasn’t something he did. It was the way he lived.”
“Whether he was dropping off mini-muffins and watermelon pickles, sharing a quiet conversation in the neighborhood or simply greeting you in these church halls, Phil had a way of making you feel seen, valued, and loved.”
“It wasn’t just his words,” she said. “It was his presence.”
Phil Harris enjoyed being a part of the John M. Wilson Bible Class, a Christmas Eve service listening to “O Holy Night” coming from the church loft with the candles aglow, and an Easter Sunday with his wife, Noel, ever by his side and her hand to hold.
Phillip Harris Jr. still to this day can see his father and mother in their familiar place in the sanctuary.
“When the church doors were open,” he said, “they were going to be there.”
Of requited love
And all will tell you there was no more of a devoted husband than Phil Harris to his wife.
“For more than 65 years, he shared life with his beloved Noel—his high school sweetheart, his partner in every season,” Gravely said. “Though she cannot be with us today due to health reasons, their bond remains unbroken. Their hearts, knit together over a lifetime, are still sealed in love.”
“The depth of their devotion was always evident, but in these last few years, it shone with a quiet brilliance.”
“Their children spoke of what a privilege it was to witness their father caring for their mother with such tenderness and faithfulness,” Gravely said. “In those moments, his life of service found its most sacred expression.”
Phil and Noel Harris have spent the past two years at an assisted living retirement facility in Wake County, where her memory is compromised, but never their unbridled love for one another.
“He would take her three chocolate chip cookies and her lipstick,” Phillip Harris said. “But only three cookies. She still has a healthy appetite. He was just always there for her.”
‘The goodness of God that holds him now’
Phillip Blackmon Harris died November 17.
He was 88.
“We could speak endlessly of Phil’s service,” Gravely said. “How much he meant to this community and how much he gave. For truly he has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he kept the faith. But today, in light of his death, we must say something even more important. As grateful as we are for Phil’s life, if all we had were memories, today would be marked by sorrow alone. For no life, however good, can save us from death. Not even the most selfless service can lift the weight of our mortality … For while Phil’s goodness touched many, it is the goodness of God that holds him now.”
Phil Harris was buried underneath the trees beside his mother in Cross Creek Cemetery No. 3, with the gurgling tributary nearby.
“He had one grainy little picture of her from the 30s,” Phillip Harris Jr., 65, said. “He used to go there on Mother’s Day and her birthday and put flowers by her grave for quiet time and say his prayers. When I grow up, I want to be just like my daddy. He did a lot of things quietly.”
Epilogue
Phil Harris took pride in seeing his three sons and a daughter succeed in their lives, seeing and hearing about grandchildren and taking care of Noel Vossler Harris, the wife he loved and cherished until his final day. What Phil Harris would have given for just another day, with cookies, lipstick, and for her to know he was there. For just one more tender kiss on her cheek and to see her smile.
“Well done, good and faithful servant,” we can only imagine God’s whisper around 11 a.m. on November 17, when Heaven’s angels took Phil Harris’ hand to lead him home. “I will watch over your beloved Noel. Be assured, my good and faithful servant, I will take it from here.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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