Denton "Denny" Dee Harris

Denton Dee Harris, age 75, passed away unexpectedly on April 10, 2023, from causes that can only be attributed to Chuck Norris as nothing else could have possibly taken him.

He was born August 14, 1947, in Mapleton, Idaho. He is the third of six sons of Thayne and Adra Harris. Denny attended elementary and middle school in Franklin Idaho, to which he walked uphill both ways in knee deep snow. He graduated from Preston High School in 1965, and later from Utah State University with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was active in football, wrestling and track & field.

His life was elevated to fantastic when he married Judith Thomas on June 14, 1974, in the Logan LDS Temple. Together they created a wonderful life with their five children.

He spent most of his professional life in self-employed ventures with his brothers and even several of his children. He worked as a private pilot instructor, airplane mechanic, crop dusting pilot, sales in several capacities and industries, construction management and gold mining. It was always rumored that he worked for the CIA, but we can confirm that Denton did not talk Thai.

He was truly a jack-of-all-trades. There was not a task or problem that he was intimidated by and he was willing to try just about anything at least once.

He always taught his children and grandchildren to work hard and to play hard. We all remember him making everything an adventure. A trip to the shop for a tool would quickly turn into an expedition with some treasure as the goal.

He loved his Franklin ward family. He served in many capacities, but his favorite was with the youth, and he spent many years with the scouting program. He loved teaching the scouts mountain man skills and he was well known for his ability to build fires without a match. He was the ultimate survivor, we were all taught that insects contained “high” amounts of protein, especially ants.

He loved helping others and was always willing to lend a hand. He showed genuine care and love to everyone, he made us all feel like we were each his favorite.

Dad had a strong testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. It’s not something we heard very often but we saw it powerfully expressed in how he lived his life every day. He never asked anything of anyone that he wasn’t willing to do himself.

He lived great and he died great in the eyes of his family who love him dearly.

Denton is survived by his wife Judy, his children Alecia (Leo) Robertson of Franklin, Ryan (Jill) Harris of Preston, Haley (Michael) Hamblin of Riverdale, Julie (Dan) Sundstrom of Smithfield Utah, Chase (Alexandrea) Harris of Hyde Park Utah, and twenty-one grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents Thayne and Adra Harris.

Funeral services will be held Monday, April 17, 2023 at 11:00 am at the Franklin Idaho Stake Center, 106 East Main, Franklin, Idaho. Visitations will be held Sunday from 6-8 pm at Webb Funeral Home, 1005 S. 800 E. Preston and again prior to the service from 9:30-10:30 am at the church. Interment will be in the Franklin Idaho Cemetery.  Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at webbmortuary.com

Services will be available to stream live at the following link:

https://youtu.be/hNDy7ocEMY0