Dan Harris

December 11, 1934 — June 10, 2026

We can say without a doubt that our dear dad, R. Daniel (Dan) Harris Jr. of San Juan Capistrano, died of a broken heart in the early morning hours of June 10th, 2026. He was 91 years young. His decline started just sixteen days before, when the love of his life and wife of sixty-eight years, Nancy Harris, passed away while he was recovering in a rehab facility from hip surgery. It was the hardest news we ever had to share with him. Afterwards, he asked over-and-over again where his “Nance” was, and each time we had to repeat the worst news that he’d ever heard, that our dear mom was gone. Life stopped for him in those moments. It just took a couple more weeks for his body to catch up.

Growing up, Dan always wanted to be a cartoonist, yet his dad, as the chief inspector of Lockheed’s secret Skunkworks (responsible for the SR-71 and U2 spy planes), wanted him to become an engineer. So, he settled in his “middle” and went into Advertising. From copywriting to an Account Executive, he worked in several agencies in Los Angeles, including Dozier-Eastman & Company, before moving in-house with several companies and eventually moving his family south to Orange County. After meeting his goals, he decided to jump at the opportunity to start his own business, Harris Communications (later HarCom), with Nancy. For over thirty years, they built the business together. They were publishers of trade magazines: State Government Administration, Cleaning Management magazine and Institute, and Western Banker. They shared their successes with family and friends, and we all learned from both of them by working with them.

Although Dan used his creativity every day in his career, he still had the itch for cartooning. Combined with his interest in psychology, he created a series of cartoons alongside illustrator Ted Goff that were published in national newspapers called “Your World of Thought,” with the main character named Howie, the Thought Bubble. He also created a series of self-help hypnosis audios called Excel. Dan was a true entrepreneur at heart, always thinking up and building new business opportunities. He worked hard and provided a wonderful life for Nancy and his family, because that made him the happiest.

For Dan and Nancy, it was a love story that movies are made of. They married young (ages 23 and 19), never fought (or at least we never heard them fight), and they loved each other beyond words. So much so that life without the other was unthinkable. Before his death, Dan was asked, “What is your idea of perfect happiness?” He replied, “Living with Nancy. That’s perfect happiness to me! She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. She’s my sweetheart … the love of my life.”

Dan is survived by his three children, Steve Harris (wife Regina), Monica Andersen, and Elizabeth Vervynck (husband Scott); his sisters Rhonda Fageol (husband John) and Anita Shier-Silverberg; his 12 grandchildren, Lindsay Sawyer (husband Steven), Ginger Quigley, Jace McKinney, Sean Harris, Colby McKinney, Lauren Stagner (husband Douglas), Tyler McKinney (wife Jovanah), Natalie Harris, Kirsten Harris, Sebastian Andersen, Christof Andersen and Tehya Andersen; and his 11 great-grandchildren Lukas Daly, Lilly Daly, Alexander Dossi, Kassidy Dossi, Nathan Dossi, David Quigley, Luke McKinney, Maxx McKinney, Bennett Stagner, Brooklyn Baker, and Maddison Johnson. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy Harris; his parents Ronald D. Harris Sr. and Helen Luzetta Harris; and his brother Dale Harris (wife Penny). He was a graduate of Woodbury College in Los Angeles and was in the U.S. Army Signal Corp, stationed in Augsburg, Germany, 1954-1956.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation in Nancy & Dan’s names to the Pet Project Foundation, rescue partner of the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter, where Nancy volunteered every Monday for over 17 years >> https://petprojectfoundation.org/

Nancy’s obituary can be found here
>> https://www.oconnormortuary.com/obituaries/nancy-harris