Paul Austin Harris,

Birth date: Jul 12, 1998 Death date: Jan 2, 2023

Paul Austin Harris, 24, died unexpectedly in a car accident on January 2, 2023, in Gainesville, FL. Paul was born July 12, 1998, to Blaine Harris and Rita Hernandez. He attended Wiles Elementary, Kanapaha Middle School, Buchholz H Read Obituary

Wall Obituary Events Media

CARED FOR BY

Williams - Thomas Westarea

823 N.W 143rd Street, Newberry FL 32669

352-376-7556

Jay Winter Collins

161w ago

I was blessed to have Paul as a student when he was in fourth grade. He had such a great sense of humor, and he "got" my jokes. I loved his enthusiasm for learning and I loved his dimples. He was one of my favorite students of all time, so I would "check in" on him on Facebook and see how he was doing. He and Justin Kranzler and my daughter Carolyn were friends in elementary school as well, and they would sometimes hang out in my classroom after school. I have so many good memories of Paul as a young person, and was so so sad to hear of his passing. My heart goes out to his family.

Pamela Cammisa

174w ago

I had prepared this to say at the memorial, but felt all the personal speakers were so special I didnt feel this would elevate the moment. So choose not to share it but will post it here.

Hi
I’m Pam, one of Blaines cousins.

I wanted to read a short poem, upon Blains behalf, he thought it sounded like Paul.

[ When I come to the end of the road and the sun has set for me, I want no rites, in a gloom filled room. Why cry for a soul that is free?

[Miss me a little, but not for long, and not with head bowed low. Remember the love that we once shared. Miss me, but let me go!!!

[For his journey, we all must go alone. Its all part of the master plan, a step on the road to home.

[When you are lonely and sick-at-heart, go to the friends we know. Laugh, and cry, enjoy the things we used to do. Miss me, but let me go.

……………breath……

I didn’t have the pleasure of really knowing Paul.

So I really appreciated, this beautiful memorial and all the heart felt tributes. He becomes immortal through the stories and connections.

It’s so apparent how loved and significant he was, to so many of you.
And because of his Life and Light, we gather here in grief and mourning.

In my 20s, I learned there was a type of pain, that was actually a blessing and a gift. A pain I could hold, and one I wanted to feel!!!

It’s the Inevitable, Excruciating, Necessary, pain of losing valuable and precious, things like; dreams, relationships and people.

This kind of pain, is the price we pay for love!! The cost we pay for living a Brave, Open-hearted life, one soaked in Love, Connection and Meaning.

Yes, this I will gladly pay for.

……breath……

So my wish for you is To live in Peace, with Pain.
And may Paul Rest in Awe and Wonder, with all the Magic of this universe, revealed to him.

Thank you

Williams-Thomas Funeral Homes

174w ago

Added a new video to the Memories Album album.

Williams-Thomas Funeral Homes

174w ago

Created a new album - Memorial Video.

Anonymous

175w ago

Planted a Memorial Tree in honor of Paul Austin.

A vibrant green tree flourishes in a sunny area, showcasing thick leaves and a sturdy trunk.

Plant a tree

Diana Stiles Friou

175w ago

Paul left us unexpectedly, abruptly, and shockingly. Usually mortality isn’t jarring. We live our daily lives caring for family members, some of us work in health and human service organizations, we are aware. A lot of the time we look at death askance, knowing with certainty that we will hold hands one day.

The departure of youth clashes with our hearts and minds — a singular experience on many levels. We all seek meaning in tragedy as part of the grieving process. I want to share a particular sliver of what Paul’s departure means to me.

I am a parent of Paul’s friend, Izaak Friou (my name is Diana Stiles Friou). That means my relationship to Paul is indirect. It also means that I am in the same position of many members of our community, because Paul has many real friends, each of whom have parents. As parents we watch our kids grow and mature. We spend countless days and nights managing fluctuating levels of anxiety, curling our toes as if gripping the earth will help us protect them, all the while knowing that the time comes when we no longer can.

Paul is an important member of several friendship circles. The mid-twenties is a time in our lifecycles that friendship takes on greater importance than family, in our daily lives. Sudden departure at this point sends powerful messages, like ripples in the water when a huge boulder plummets. As parents of youth we look squarely at Paul’s mortality, knowing full well that we could have been in the shoes of Paul’s parents. We hug our own kids as they meet the trauma of loosing a friend — so so young. We can’t help but imagine ourselves in the shoes of Paul’s family members — excruciating pain.

Paul — Izaak and I weep and talk about him. Paul is a group member, his energy circulating and mingling with all of the individual members — his intelligence, humor, huge heart, uncompromising dimples, camaraderie. There is a modicum of consolation in the first law of thermodynamics, that energy is neither created or destroyed — God. Sadness’ grip loosens a micro degree. We acknowledged that time really isn’t money, it’s the only healer.

Paul’s departure has transformed his friends. They have all shed a bit of their youthful innocence, a bit of that implicit sense of immorality that we parents long ago discarded (though we will never forget the friends we lost when we were youth, and it doesn’t get easier).

“Cause of death” doesn’t even matter. That essential part of all of us that must take risks to learn by expanding our experiences and connections, explosively grows during youth. Paul’s departure is metaphorically, like stepping on an IED — each and every family member and friend blasted with the message to cherish the life you have, just as Paul has, just as we all cherish Paul.