Dale Harris

Dale Harris aka "Rocket J Squirrel" aka "Rocket" spent his life defying death. His motto was "life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!"" He may have worn out his body but his mind and sense of humor were intact in each one of his final interactions with his family and friends.

Anyone who has known Dale for any length of time knows he has defied death in numerous ways. He defied death in Vietnam, he was hit broadside by a train in a squad car, fell off of a roof at Choir Practice, survived prostate cancer and two heart surgeries. Every time he left the cardiologist office, he laughed because he was pretty sure the doctor couldn't understand how he was still living. Even now he is defying death as he has shed his earthly body and lives eternally with his Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:1-6).

Dale George Harris was born in New York, New York on February 18th, 1947. Dale's parents would get itchy feet and moved throughout the US during Dale's childhood. He lived in Las Vegas, Nevada; Willow Springs, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from McCluer High School in 1965 and soon entered the US Army on March 29, 1966. Following his honorable discharge from the Army, Dale graduated from the Greater St. Louis Police Academy on October 25th, 1973. Dale served collectively over 35 years as a Patrol Officer, Detective and in Major Case Squad throughout Jennings, Calverton Park, Florissant, Bellefontaine Neighbors and finally retired from Riverview. Dale was a graduate from Northeastern Missouri State University in 1977 with his Bachelor of Science and from Webster University with an MBA in 1982. Anyone who knew Dale, knew he had a love of learning that never stopped. Dale additionally worked for the St. Louis companies of McDonald Douglas, Grey Eagle and AT&T, however, his passion was always in law enforcement.

Dale, 78, died on April 2, 2025 in his favorite recliner. He was survived by his four children Christine (David) Zika, Gregory (Katie) Harris, Kevin (Cortney) Harris and Amanda (Nathan) Hernandez; 10 grandchildren Brittany Harris, Gage (Maria) Roberts, Carter Harris, Eliana Hernandez, Colin Harris, Emma Hernandez, Augustus Harris, Alexander Harris, Ashlynn Harris and Aiden Harris; and 2 great-grand children Liam Campbell and Madeleine Campbell. In addition, he was also survived by his former wife, Mary (nee Killian) Harris who was the mother of his children and who he remained close to the end of his life.

According to his grandchildren "He was chill and his experiences helped him know what to say at the right time" (Emma). "He cracked jokes at the perfect time, jokes that usually took me a minute to get." (Carter) "Grandpa was wonderfully quirky and always smelled like his pipe. He loved science and shared his passion in the best ways. I'll never forget the first lunar eclipse I saw-he brought his giant telescope over to my dad's house, and we stayed up late watching it together. It was magical, and so perfectly him. He loved me and my kids deeply, and he always tried to spoil us in the way only a grandpa can. That love and those memories will always stay with me." (Brittany). "We were eating dinner and he handcuffed me with handcuffs!" (Colin)

Per Dale's wishes he will be cremated and be interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery at a later date.