James F. Harris was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 16, 1929. “Jimmy” attended school at Fessenden Academy in Ocala, Florida where his parents were teachers. He enlisted and was inducted into the U.S Army on Nov. 19, 1952, in Alexandria, VA. He served and was released from active military service and transferred to the Army Reserve for completion of 8 years of service. His duty assignment was with the Information and Education Specialist Unit where he taught soldiers to read and write so they could pass exams.
Jimmy received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Howard University in 1956. He was a licensed pharmacist for the state of North Carolina and the District of Columbia (DC) the same year he graduated. He met Gisele Turnier, a pharmacist intern and Howard University student, at Colbert’s Drug Store at 6th and K Streets, in NE, DC. They were married in August, 1956.
During the years of 1956-1961, he practiced pharmacy in several local pharmacies. From 1961 to 1968, Jimmy was employed by DC General Hospital as a supervisor. When the Medicaid Program was instituted in the District of Columbia in 1968, he was offered the position of pharmacist consultant, becoming the first and only Black pharmacist to head a state’s Medicaid program.
Jimmy was an engaged, servant leader. He served on numerous committees and fact-finding task forces that dealt with pharmacy within the Department of Human Services. During his tenure, he was instrumental in reorganizing the durable medical equipment program so that recipients could have the freedom to choose their providers. Additionally, Jimmy served as chairman of the Department of Human Service Board of Pharmacy and the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee, and as a consultant on the District of Columbia’s Drug Substitution Formulary Committee. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Washington, DC Pharmaceutical Association, was an active member of the DC Society of Hospital Pharmacists, the National Pharmacy Association, the Association of Black Hospital Pharmacists and Chi Delta Mu, a medical fraternity. He was secretary/treasurer of the Eastern Medical Pharmacy Administrators Association for five years, before serving as chairman of that association in 1990-1991.
After retiring, Jimmy continued to be an active pharmacist, volunteering on the Legal Counsel for the “Elderly’s Representative Payee Program” as a member of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). He served as the treasurer of “Seeds of Haiti”, which is a non-profit organization that provided support (financial and goods and services) for Haitian children in need. Jimmy also served on the Board of Directors for the Clermont Foundation, another non-profit organization that built and oversaw an orphanage for young boys in Haiti.
In 1984, Jimmy received the A.H. Robins “Bowl of Hygea” Award for outstanding community service in pharmacy and in 1987 was awarded the Outstanding Pharmacy Alumni Award by the Pharmacy Action Committee of the Howard University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Alumni Association.
Jimmy enjoyed reading, jazzercise classes, traveling including many years of camping with the DC Ramblers, bowling and listening to music. Like his father, he also enjoyed taking photographs of places he visited and the people he loved.
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