A March 15 crash between a riding lawnmower and a pickup truck claimed the life of a Uriah man who was retired after a lengthy career as a basketball coach and economics teacher at Frisco City High School.
Alabama State Troopers reported that 75-year-old Curtis Eugene Harris was killed when the Toro lawnmower he was operating was struck by a 2002 Ford F150 around 5:08 p.m. Harris was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.
The driver of the Ford, John Russell Williams of Uriah, was uninjured in the crash, which occurred at the 22.1 mile marker of Alabama 21, 12 miles south of Frisco City.
Harris had reportedly just finished cutting the grass at First Baptist Church of Uriah, a task he had been performing since he was a youngster, and was on his way home when the fatal mishap occurred.
The news of his death was met with an outpouring of sadness and remembrances on social media sites.
“He was one of a kind,” wrote Jennifer Rhodes Brown. “He loved to fish on the river. He was an active member of First Baptist Church of Uriah. He loved his family beyond what words can express.”
Barbarietta Turner-Pugh said the former coach, who was a former basketball standout at J.U. Blacksher High School, agreed Harris one of a kind.
“Coach Harris never met a stranger … (he was) a true gem,” she wrote. “There are so few of his kind left. He will truly be missed. He touched so many lives.”
Harris’ funeral service was conducted Monday, March 19, at First Baptist Church of Uriah. Burial followed at Uriah Cemetery.