John W. Harris spent most of his life around blood. Fresh out of Harvard Medical School, he served as a captain of the U.S. Army Medical Corps on the battlefields of the European theater during World War II. With peace came the resumption of his medical studies and the beginnings of a long and rewarding career in researching the red blood cell, reports the Plain Dealer. Harris taught at the Case Western Reserve University and was also the director of the Hematology Division at the MetroHealth Medical Center of Cleveland. He passed away on May 3 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.