Maureen Jones Harris was ushered into Heaven on Friday, March 2, 2018. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Hunter Bill Harris; children, Paul Hunter and Nancy Harris Drouin; parents, Elmo and Velma Jones; and siblings, Ellen Jones Henderson and her husband Jerry and her twin brother, Maurice Jones.
She is survived by her children, Margaret A.H. Taylor and her husband Lynn and W. Hunter Harris, Jr. and his wife Michelle Swope; grandchildren, Philip Lynn Taylor IV and his wife Rebekah and Alyson Jo-Ann Taylor Mancini and her husband Michael; great-grandchildren, Chloe Ann and Abigail Lynn Taylor, Rocco Anthony and Hunter Thomas Mancini; sister-in-law Dorothy Jones; and many special extended family members and friends.
Maureen was born on October 1, 1929, and raised on the Jones family farm in Towanda, Illinois. She went to school at Smith Grove Elementary School, and then was graduated from University High School in 1947, Stephens College in 1949, and Illinois Wesleyan University in 1951.
Bill and Maureen met and were wed in Illinois during his service in the Air Force, moved to North Carolina for a couple of years, and then settled in Brunswick County Virginia where they spent the next 50 years and raised their family. Moving in 2006 to the Shenandoah Valley, Maureen and Bill enjoyed hosting their relatives and friends in their home in Fairfield Estates, Raphine, Va. They celebrated 60 years of marriage before Bill went home to Heaven in 2014. Prior to his passing and to ensure Maureen would be well cared for, Bill encouraged they move to Brightview Baldwin Park, a lovely retirement community in Staunton, where she spent her remaining years. The family is grateful for the splendid care she received from all the staff at Brightview Baldwin Park; for the sisterly friendship she shared for decades with her housekeeper, Maggie Rice; and for the gentle, loving care she received in her last months from her caregiver, Terry Craft.
Maureen devoted herself to her husband and family assisting Bill as he managed the family farm and was self-employed as a Forestry Consultant. Maureen was a member of Lawrenceville United Methodist Church, faithfully taking her girls to church and serving in various ministries of the church. She also was the church secretary for several years. Soon after Hunter was born, Maureen was called as the organist and choir director at the Lawrenceville Baptist Church, so she became a Baptist by profession. Each Sunday she would take her girls to the Methodist Church, and then go to the Baptist Church with her infant son on her hip. Margaret and Nancy soon became old enough to walk from their church to the Baptist church to meet Mom and Hunter for the ride home each week. She taught us by her example to be faithful in worshipping and serving the Lord.
Once Hunter was in school, she became a full time working Mom and enjoyed a fulfilling career as a social worker and then Director for the Brunswick County Department of Social Services, retiring in December 1994.
Maureen was selfless in her love for her family. She taught important things for her children to know; how to fish, including putting the worms on hooks and taking the fish off, then cleaning and cooking the fish for a meal; how to gather eggs without breaking them to later discover some eggs had double yokes. Her children know how to chop the head off of a chicken and once it stops running around, how to scald, pluck, clean, and fry it for a good meal. Maureen and Bill enjoyed teaching their children to milk cows, ride horses and bicycles, to hunt, fly kites, climb trees, and swim. She taught her daughters and many of their friends how to sew. All of these activities have given her children a lifetime of enjoyment and they are passing these skills along to their children, grandchildren, and godchildren.
The family will receive friends from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 8, at Coffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 230 Frontier Drive, Staunton, VA.
The celebration of Maureens life will continue on Friday, March 9, at the Lawrenceville United Methodist Church, 300 West Church Street, Lawrenceville, VA. Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. with the service immediately following at 2:00 p.m. Burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery, followed by a reception at Lawrenceville United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Lawrenceville United Methodist Church.
Coffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 230 Frontier Drive, Staunton is in charge of her arrangements. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.coffmanfuneralhome.net