Judith Mae Mills Harris
Judith Mae Harris, 81, of Cole Camp, died Monday,
September 26, 2016, at Golden Age Living Center,
Stover. She was born on May 24, 1935, in Washington,
DC, a daughter of Frederick Lee and Ruth Henrietta
(Dameron) Mills. She lived with her grandparents in
Virginia until the age of 5.
She then went to Washington, DC, to live with her aunt
and uncle, Mary Elizabeth Dameron and Herman
Francis Waldow and stayed with them while attending
Anacostia High School (1953) and worked at a
local department store in jewelry. Judy had also worked at a bank, for an insurance
company with her aunt, and as a waitress in several bars in the DC area.
She lived in New York for a while and then moved back to Washington, DC.
On February 14, 1976, she was united in marriage to Raymond "R. E." Eldridge
Harris.
Her husband R. E. helped her get into Chapman College in Orange, California,
where she received her Master's Degree of Science majoring in Human Resources
and Development. After getting all her credentials, she worked in alcohol and drug
treatment centers in Nevada and was transferred to train in other facilities in the
United States.
She also worked in Missouri at the Lake of the Ozarks in a treatment facility until it
closed. In 2000, she and R. E. moved to Cole Camp, where she was active in the
community, served as Mayor from 2006-2010, was a member of First United
Methodist Church and later opened a bed and breakfast, the "Guest House". Judy
enjoyed dancing, listening to music, and visiting with family and friends.
She is survived by: two sons, Larry Hamlet and Sue of Durango, Colorado, David
Hardesty of Spokane, Washington; two step-daughters, Kathy O'Malley and Kelly
Duarte and David, both of Las Vegas, Nevada; two step-sons, Mark Harris of Las
Vegas, Nevada, and Matt Harris and Sandy of Sedalia, Missouri; one
granddaughter, Leigh Ingham and Brett of Clarksville, Tennessee; three
step-grandchildren, Nicole O'Malley, Dallas O'Malley, and Danielle Duarte; and two
great-grandchildren, Kaleb and Kloe Ingham.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick and Ruth Mills, her aunt and
uncle, Mary and Herman Waldow, and her husband R. E. Harris.
Memorial services will be held at Noon on Saturday, October 1, 2016, at the First
United Methodist Church, Cole Camp, with Pastor Jason Veale officiating. Burial
will be in Memorial Cemetery, Cole Camp.
The family will receive friends from 11:00 a.m. until service time on Saturday at the
church.
The family suggests memorial contributions be given to First United Methodist
Church in care of the Fox Funeral Home, Cole Camp.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and
well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn
out, and proclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!!!"
Funeral Home
FOX FUNERAL HOME, INC - COLE CAMP
302 EAST BUTTERFIELD TRAIL P.O. Box 37
Cole Camp, MO 65325
(660) 668-4425
.