Gill Harris, to those who knew him, was a man of many talents.

Harris, 90, died Friday at 5:30 p.m., his oldest son, John Harris confirmed to The Dispatch.

“I would describe him as a Renaissance man,” John said. “He used both sides of his brain. He loved music and art. At the same time, he loved math and science.”

Gill was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but has lived in Columbus since the early 1960s.

Gill was a structural engineer, John said, and spent much of his career at Ceco Building Systems in Columbus. He was also involved with the Metal Building Manufacturing Association.

John said his father loved fixing problems, and was dedicated to his work. He said Gill, in recent months, obtained a patent for pavers, which are materials that could be used to make flooring for liveable spaces atop high-rise structures.

“Say you’re in New York City and you own a high-rise and want to have more usable space,” John said. “You can go to the roof of that high-rise building and turn it into livable outdoor space. These pavers are the flooring that you put down and are able to walk on.”

The pavers can also be used on ground-level applications, including being put out in front of buildings, in plazas or any other uses, John said. He added that they’re hurricane-proof and water-resistant.

But in Columbus, Gill was also well-known for his contributions to the arts — specifically music.

Roger Burlingame, a friend of Gill’s, said he knew of Gill before coming to Columbus but didn’t meet him personally until after he arrived in 2002. Burlingame worked for Ceco at the time, and he said Gill did contract work as a structural engineer for the company. But their friendship was just as often about things outside of work as it was work-related. Burlingame said Gill once approached him in his office, after hearing that he sang, and invited Burlingame to join his big band.

Burlingame joined the band, called Gill Harris and the Big Band Theory. The group performed annually, Burlingame said, at the Trotter Convention Center around Valentine’s Day.

Denise Reid is another member of the band, and she said Gill’s contribution to Columbus’ music scene can’t be understated.

“He will definitely leave a hole in the music experience in Columbus, because he’s the only one that brought that big band experience to this town in 30 years or more,” she said. “He will leave that gap. He brought that part of the music experience to Columbus and it was a lot of people’s, including my own, only opportunity to get that big band experience.”

Beyond his work in music, Reid said Gill was one of the most brilliant men she’s ever known. He paid particular attention to detail and was an interesting person to listen to, she said, but always remained engaged in conversations.

Burlingame agreed, noting that Gill could be both serious and funny.

“He’s a great mixture of comedy and very serious thought,” he said. “He is well-known around the world for his engineering studies done for metal buildings. I know that he sat on a four-hour conference call two weeks ago with a bunch of people from around the country talking about studies related to metal buildings.

“Yet he has a great sense of humor,” he added. “At rotary club, he told a joke every week for about a month and a half last year, and they were all very funny. He’s a really interesting guy, and I never felt like he wasn’t engaged with me. If we had a conversation, he was totally engaged.”

John said Gill was a family man and always gave his all to any venture he joined.

He also said his father enjoyed being a part of Columbus.

“He loved Columbus,” John said. “This is his town. He really belonged here. He was a fabric of this town for several generations, and certainly had the opportunity to move anywhere he wanted, but chose to live here in Columbus. I would like to think he made it a better place by being here.”

Harris is survived by three of his five children — John, Susan Ward and Karen Tullos — and his wife, Pat. He has seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

His funeral mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Annunciation Catholic Church, with a rosary set for 9 a.m. that morning and visitation from 9:30-11 a.m.

John said any donations made in Gill’s honor will go to Annunciation Catholic School.

Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.