Welton Winans “Art” Harris II, who died March 10 in Zionsville, was born Aug. 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, N.Y, the son of Welton W. and Wanda Jensch Harris, both deceased.
Art spent his boyhood in Greenville, Del., where he attended Tower Hill School in nearby Wilmington. Upon moving to Indianapolis in 1950, he attended Shortridge High School, graduating in 1954. He then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University.
Wisconsin was his second home. There he spent summers at the family’s beloved cottage on Sand Island in Lake Superior.
An award-winning journalist, Art had a long, distinguished career at the Indianapolis News and later, at the Indianapolis Star. Upon retirement, he became involved in small town government and was twice elected to four-year terms on the Zionsville Town Council.
Lifelong interests include preservation of the environment and its natural resources, books and in particular the World War II era and dogs, especially his succession of black Labrador Retrievers.
A former president of the Indianapolis Press Club, Art was currently a board member of the Apostle Islands Historic Preservation Conservancy. Among his memberships were Sigma Chi Fraternity, Woodstock Club and St. Francis In-the-Fields Episcopal Church.
Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth (Betsy) Brockway Harris of Zionsville; his son, Welton W. (Wes) Harris III of Nashville, Ind.; his stepdaughter, Ayun Brockway Halliday and husband Gregory Kotis of New York City; his grandchildren Welton W. (Wade) Harris IVand wife Erin of Ann Arbor, Mich., Alexandra (Ali) Harris of Bloomington, Ind., India and Milo Kotis of New York City, and his sister and brother-in-law, Phebe and Logan Blackburn of Indianapolis and Key Colony Beach, Fla.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to St. Francis Church or the donor’s preferred charity. Arrangements entrusted to A.R.N. Funerals and Cremations.
