Melville Harris, of Langwathby, and formerly of Whitbarrow Farm, Berrier, has died at the age of 83.
Born on March 27, 1938, into a farming family at Wyebourne, Reagill, he was the fourth of five children of Tom and Dinah Harris.
He left school in 1953 at the age of 15 and was an active member of Lyvennet Young Farmers’ Club and was at one time chairman of the branch.
In February, 1965, he married Mary Jackson, from Lingstubbs, Penrith, at Sandgate Head Methodist Church. They then moved to Whit-barrow Farm, where they farmed for the next 53 years.
During this time, they had two children, Wendy, who was born in December, 1965, and Graham, born just over two years later.
After leaving school, both Wendy and Graham worked on the family farm. Wendy also helped with the guesthouse until her marriage to Chris Swinbank.
Later, grandson Andrew Swinbank also worked with Melville and Graham on the farm.
Melville was passionate about dairy farming, and together the family built up a herd of 400 pedigree Holsteins.
If farming was Melville’s life and family his love, it was his faith which was his identity and defined him as a person.
Before his marriage to Mary, Melville and his family were members of Crosby Ravensworth Methodist Chapel – but his impact went much wider. In 1973, he had felt a call to preach the Christian gospel and trained as a lay preacher.
He served the Penrith Methodist Circuit and other chapels and denominations around Cumbria and Lancashire for more than 40 years. He went on to serve his community for the rest of his life, last preaching at Dufton chapel the Sunday before his admission to hospital after a stroke last October.
His service to his faith went further, including in the early 1980s when he joined the Cumbria North branch of the Gideons, working to present Bibles to schools, hotels and prisons. Melville and Mary retired from farming and moved to Langwathby in 2018.
Melville is survived by Mary; his children Wendy and Graham; son-in-law Chris and daughter-in-law Mandy; his grandchildren Grace and Josh Forrest, Andrew and Paul Swinbank, and Joel and Naomi Harris; great-grandchildren Rose, Edward and Albert Forrest; his sisters Margaret and Kathleen, along with nieces and nephews.
A service of thanksgiving celebrating Melville’s life was held at the Church in the Barn, Penrith, and attended by over 200 people.
Pastor Graham Emerson led the service, with Roger Dix delivering the eulogy.
The worship was led by Oliver and Anna Jackson and the bearers were his grandsons Andrew, Paul, Joel and Josh. The service was followed by interment at Penrith cemetery.
