
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 26, 1995                   TAG: 9503270087
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LISA GARCIA
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

LEXINGTON'S REV. HARRIS DIES

The Rev. James B. Harris' baritone voice resonated at public functions as he read official statements for the Lexington City Council and will be missed along with his dedicated service as a council member, according to the mayor.

Harris, 57, died Saturday at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville.

``The city lost a great citizen, the council lost an excellent and hard-working man and I lost a good friend,'' said Homer L. Derrick Jr., Lexington's mayor.

Harris was near the end of his first four-year term on the council.

He also was minister of the First Baptist Church and president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Derrick said he was most impressed with Harris' full career with Centel telephone company before he moved to Lexington as a minister.

It's unusual for someone to come into a small community as Harris did and become so well-liked and a part of the community in such a short time, Derrick said.

by CNB