Robin Harris' Obituary
Robin Harris, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and engineer, passed away in Ashburn, Virginia, on June 20, 2026, at the age of 82. He was born on June 11, 1944, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, to the Reverend Cedric H. Harris and Esther M. Harris (née Orgill).
In 1949 the family relocated to Wakefield — then the proud capital city of the West Riding of Yorkshire — where his father took up a long tenure at St. James' Church in Thornes. Wakefield, with its cathedral, grammar schools, county hall, and position on the London North Eastern Railway, proved a rich setting for an intellectually gifted boy. The rectory sat only a quarter-hour's walk from the town centre, the cathedral, and the railway station, where Robin and his siblings could trainspot the newest A4 steam engines such as the record-breaking Mallard . Robin, Heather, and Andrew each sat the eleven-plus examination and earned places at the city's schools; Robin attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, where he excelled in the
sciences. From an early age he showed a love of technical pursuits, building radios and Morse code kits among them, and it was widely expected by his teachers that he would go on to Oxford or Cambridge. Instead, characteristically independent, he chose a more practical path: leaving school in the summer of 1962 to attend Mid-Essex Technical College on a sandwich course while working for the Marconi Company.
In June 1966 Robin passed Part III of the Electrical Engineering Institution's examinations (the UK degree equivalent) and became a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. His career in aerospace and systems engineering spanned almost six decades and two continents. In 1981 he was awarded Chartered Engineer status. In 1983, while working for British Aerospace, he earned a Master of Science degree in Astronomy and Astronautics from Hatfield Polytechnic. Moving to the United States in 1988, he joined GE Astro (later Lockheed Martin) in New Jersey,
where in 1993 he received the GE Astro-Space Division Technical Excellence Award. He subsequently worked for Orbital Sciences in Maryland and Virginia until 2013, during which time he earned a second Master of Science degree, in Systems Engineering from George Washington University. From May 2014 through June 2018 he worked for Sierra Nevada Corporation in Colorado, after which he returned to Leesburg, Virginia.
Music was among Robin's deepest passions. Having learned to play the pipe organ in his teens, he served as organist and choirmaster at various churches in England and New Jersey, and was widely known among local organists as a dependable and gifted substitute. He also loved choral singing, and during his years in New Jersey became a proud member of the Princeton Pro Musica choir. He was a man of broad intellectual curiosity, with a lifelong love of history and science, and those who knew him well understood that he chose his close friendships carefully and kept them faithfully.
Robin is survived by his wife of over 53 years, Marilyn; his children Samantha and Timothy and their spouses Michael and Nicole; and his grandchildren Gwynnie, Robert, Aidan, Tegan, Macsen, Aubrey, Declan, Noelle, Helene, Seren, Nick, Mary Jo, and Norah. He is also survived by his sister Heather and his brother Andrew, both in the United Kingdom, and their families.
Visitation will be held at Loudoun Funeral Chapel, Leesburg, Virginia, on July 9, 6pm to 8pm. Funeral service will take place at 4:30pm on July 23, 2026 at St. James’ Episcopal Church, Leesburg, Virginia.
In lieu of flowers please honor Robin with a donation to the St James’ Organ Fund.
Online condolences may be made to the family at https://www.loudounfuneralchapel.com
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