Francis Benson Harris, Jr. "Bennie", was born January 10, 1945 in Washington, DC. He moved to Walkertown, NC as a young boy with his mother, Mollie and was later joined by his father, Francis, Sr. After high school and the loss of his father, with his mother's blessing, he joined to United States Army in 1965. In 1967 he met Rita Watts who was also a solider. He was often kidded by his fellow soldiers for dating Rita as she outranked him. He would say they shared a lot as she was a Vietnam Veteran also, she could "pin him down."

In 1969, Ben and Rita were married and were stationed in Aberdeen, MD. After the birth of their son, Francis Allen Harris, Ben was called to do a second tour of Vietnam. Thankfully, he returned from combat and he, Rita, and Francis began many tours together including Korea, Alabama, Georgia, Germany, California, and Virginia. They were happy when Mollie joined them on tour in Germany. While on active duty, Ben had many assignments which included missile weapons, welding instructor, dental assistant, and NCOIC of Bull Dental at Fort Lee, VA. After retiring from the military in 1985 he became a civil service civilian employee and ended his career as a supervisory medical records technician at Kenner Army Hospital of Ft. Lee, VA.

Ben was a strong Washington Redskins fan, he loved fishing and bowling, and was a fan of all types of music.

Memorial services will be held at 1:00pm Saturday, July 9, 2016 at the Russell Funeral Home Chapel with Reverend Johnnie Taylor officiating.