Thomas Weldon Harris

Thomas Weldon Harris, 82, of Longwood, Fla., (formerly of Crestview Hills, Ky.), passed away on January 8, 2026, after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife of 58 1/2 years, Elizabeth (Combs) Harris; two daughters, Ann Marie Harvey (Todd) of Hoover, Ala.; Rebecca Harris (Michael Grabowski) of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.; and two granddaughters, Susannah Elizabeth Harvey of Chicago and Sarah Page Harvey Stebbins (Patrick) of Villa Hills, Ky. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jay E. and Bettie Weldon Harris.

Weldon was born on February 20, 1943, in Memphis, Tenn., and lived in the Weldon Family home in Augusta, Ky., during World War II. He was descended from several Kentucky pioneer families: the Craigs of Northern and Central Kentucky (1780s); the Weldons of Augusta (1797); and the Harrises of Lexington (1800) and Independence (1804). Weldon grew up in Erlanger and Crestview Hills, Ky.. and was a 1961 graduate of Dixie Heights High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business and finance from Georgetown College in 1965 and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was the owner of Jay E. Harris, Inc., a utilities contractor constructing sewer and water projects throughout Northern Kentucky and through Erlanger Enterprises, Inc., was a waterworks supplier to contractors in public utilities. While a member of Erlanger Baptist Church, Weldon served as a deacon and frequently visited those who were sick or in the hospital. In Florida, he was the owner of The Basket Place, a furniture and gift store, and was later a realtor, as well as a member of Sweetwater Baptist Church in Longwood. 

Weldon strongly believed in service above self and was proud to have completed more than 55 years of perfect attendance with Rotary International. He was a member of the clubs in both Erlanger, Ky., and Altamonte Springs, Fla., and a frequent visitor to Rotary clubs in both Hoover and Vestavia Hills, Ala. Weldon was a longtime Board member of Northern Kentucky Easterseals. His hobbies were golf, tennis, reading and walking, logging more than 15,700 miles after retirement.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Weldon and Elizabeth Harris Scholarship Fund for Educators at Georgetown College (https://engage.georgetowncollege.edu/portal/tigersgiving?tab=Funds) or to The Rotary Foundation (my.rotary.org).

Services will be held at the chapel of Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Ky., on Friday, January 16. Family will receive visitors at 1:00 p.m. with a service following at 2:00pm. A celebration of life will be held on Weldon’s 83rd birthday, February 20, at 3:00 p.m. at the Sweetwater Baptist Church Annex Building.