Clifford Joel Harris passed away Dec. 10, 2025, surpassing the age of 100. He is preceded in death by his siblings: Ruth (infant), Florence (Zachary), Minnie (Costa), Lena (Whitsell), Verdo, Alice (Mell), Milo, twins Wade and Wayne; beloved wife Marilyn (Solterbeck); grandson Spencer Taylor (infant); son-in-law Gary Taylor.

Cliff was born Aug. 12, 1925, in Colville WA, 10th child of Annie (Conner) and Joseph Harris. Within a year the family packed up to move to Jefferson OR, and a few years later to Gates OR. In Nov. 1937 they settled on 160 acres of sagebrush in Lincoln Heights, part of the new Owyhee Dam irrigation project. In Feb. 1938 his father died while pumping water for the horses.

The family began making the rough place a home, grubbing out sagebrush, tilling new fields with horses, planting crops, carefully irrigating the fragile soil, and coaxing a farm and garden to life from their hard labor.

Cliff attended Lincoln School 4½ miles away. On school nights he’d stay 2 miles closer with his sister’s family—Lena and Ray Whitsell. He became active at the Lincoln school church and in other school and community endeavors.The US entered WWII Dec. 1941 and his brothers joined the war effort, leaving Cliff—the youngest at age 16—and his mom to run the farm. He stayed in school and credited Mr. Oris Dearborn Sr., his agriculture teacher at Ontario High School for his help. They scheduled Cliff to attend school 3 days a week and farm every other spare minute. He was valedictorian of OHS class of 1943. That year there was no school annual—all available resources including paper went to fight the war.

Cliff bought his first tractor in 1949 and retired his draft horses. Like most farms, they had milk cows, steers, pigs and chickens. He knew how to build good fences and was a good neighbor, happy to help out. He jointly owned several pieces of shared machinery with folks nearby.

Cliff was active at Boulevard Grange and served as President. They rented out the grange hall for dances and Cliff met Marilyn Marie Solterbeck from Payette. They married Nov. 21, 1953, and shared 67 years together until Marilyn passed away on Oct. 25, 2020. They have 4 children: Craig (Lydia), Jeff (Teresa), Elaine (Gary), David (Kelly); 8 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren.

Cliff and Marilyn were active in the Ontario Methodist Church with close friends among young couples and families, known as the Methodeers. They became members of Malheur Butte Baptist Church in the early 1970s and were very active. Their home and garden oasis was a frequent venue for church potlucks, community picnics, family reunions and even a few weddings. Their garden produce was abundant, their flowers beautiful, winning many ribbons at the fair.

Cliff worked at Production Credit Association 1964-1986 as a fieldman and loan officer. He continued to farm while working full-time. He continually improved the farm—creating a pond, leveling fields, installing concrete ditches and gated pipe, carefully using and reusing every drop of Owyhee water while preserving the fragile soil. He would walk everywhere on the farm, with a shovel on his shoulder, digging corrugates, hurling rocks out of the field, and digging to set gopher traps. He set up his sons to do the milking and those milk cows helped put his kids through college.

Family was important to Cliff. His mother lived with him and his family until near the end of her life. Extended family gatherings were frequent. He bought a modest boat so the family could fish and water ski, got a pool table to keep the kids entertained, built picnic tables that could be used for table tennis, and poured a concrete slab on the gravel barnyard by the shed for basketball.

Cliff and Marilyn travelled extensively after retirement, often to visit relatives or with friends. They volunteered at the Ontario food pantry, helped with registering produce entries at the fair and donated generously to many charities. They gave away home-grown sweet corn, popcorn, walnuts, flowers and always the best of the garden. He wore out several bread machines. For Christmas he made batches of divinity and fudge to give away (and some to keep). Cliff was a shrewd judge of his own sweet corn—often saying “it’s just a little past its prime.”

Starting in 2021 neighbor and friend Roger Findley asked Cliff to collaborate with him to document some history of the cohort who settled in Lincoln Heights in the 1930s. It was a joy to Cliff to work with Roger on this project.

After 84 years Cliff moved off his farm in Lincoln Heights Mar. 2022 to live with Elaine and Gary Taylor on the Oregon Slope. His last 5 months he lived at Edgewood in Fruitland ID.

Faithful, kind, gentle, loving, selfless, humble, gracious, wise, hardworking, generous, devout Christian, servant to others—he was an example to his loved ones and is sorely missed, his example will live on in our memories.

The family extends their gratitude to Horizon Hospice and Edgewood Springcreek Fruitland for their care of Dad.

Memorials & donations can be made to TVCC Foundation - for Cliff and Marilyn Harris Agricultural Memorial Scholarship c/o Cathy Yasuda at 650 College Blvd, Ontario, OR  97914.

A viewing will be held on Friday, January 2, 2026, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Lienkaemper Funeral Chapel. A funeral service will take place on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. at Butte Baptist Church, located at 3848 Butte Drive in Ontario, Oregon. A graveside service will follow at Valley View Cemetery in Vale, Oregon.