Blue Ridge Funeral & Cremation Service 7626 Highway 213 Mars Hill, NC 28754 Phone: (828) 680-9963 Fax: (828) 680-9965 Email: brfs@blueridgefuneralservice.org
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In Memory of
Irene
Harris (Phillips)
Harris (Phillips)
1928 - 2018
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Obituary for Irene Harris (Phillips)
Irene Phillips Harris, 89, of Asheville, died on Saturday, April 21 at the Aston Park Health Care Center of complications from pneumonia.
Irene was the oldest of five born to Dessie and Cash Phillips in the Upper Laurel area of Madison County, earlier designated as English, NC. That area and her people, her parents and grandparents, and telling their individual and community stories was the primary color in her life. It shaped all things ‘Irene’ especially her deep and abiding faith, her daily practice of living with gratitude, and her encouragement and inclusion of others. Irene graduated from Mars Hill High school in 1945.
She went to beautician school in TN where she met and later married Vance J. Harris of Flag Pond, TN. After a few years of hard work in Detroit, MI, the ‘Appalachian’ couple moved back to West Asheville to build a business, start a family, and place deep roots in the Emma community, particularly Emma Baptist Church for almost sixty years. Irene took pride in preparing and teaching an adult women’s Sunday School class for 30 + years, always calling them “her girls.” Irene loved to read, visit and reminisce, and to “hold court” on all matters important to her. Irene loved to work at the polls every election day. She was a prolific gardener and her annual canning was a work of art. She loved to eat and was known for her sweet tooth; each dessert was the best she had ever had!
Irene is survived by her two children, Phillip V. Harris and spouse Sarah, of Marshall, and her daughter, Elizabeth Harris-Lamkin and spouse James, of Atlanta. Her love and faithful support was beyond measure and she sealed it with the daily mantra “I love you more than you will ever know.”
Her siblings, Dorothy Cody, Jack Phillips and spouse, Kathleen, Robert Phillips and spouse, Bernice, all reside in Mars Hill. Her nieces and nephews and their families are local.
The family extends deep gratitude to all who helped Irene in recent years_ Linda Sobeziak of Advantage Care Svs, Dr. Tom Kaluzynski and team at Memory Care Center, neighbors and church friends, and the staff of the Aston Park Health Care Center. The family especially thanks her beloved friend and lifelong neighbor, Jack Hyder and his wife Diane, for their meticulous and loving watch care over her life, home and overall well-being.
Blue Ridge Funeral Service of Mars Hill is handling arrangements. The funeral will be held on Thursday, April 26 at 1pm at the Bright Hope Laurel United Methodist Church, 271 Laurel Valley Rd, Mars Hill, NC 28754. The Reverend James Lamkin will officiate. Visitation and a reception will follow at the church. Interment will be nearby in the Lower English Cemetery where Irene wanted to be buried near her parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and the others of Upper Laurel who shaped her ‘storied’ life.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Memory Care Center, 100 Far Horizon Lane, Asheville, NC 28803, memorycare.org; or to Emma Baptist Church, 520 N Louisiana Ave, Asheville, NC 28806.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blueridgefuneralservice.org
Irene was the oldest of five born to Dessie and Cash Phillips in the Upper Laurel area of Madison County, earlier designated as English, NC. That area and her people, her parents and grandparents, and telling their individual and community stories was the primary color in her life. It shaped all things ‘Irene’ especially her deep and abiding faith, her daily practice of living with gratitude, and her encouragement and inclusion of others. Irene graduated from Mars Hill High school in 1945.
She went to beautician school in TN where she met and later married Vance J. Harris of Flag Pond, TN. After a few years of hard work in Detroit, MI, the ‘Appalachian’ couple moved back to West Asheville to build a business, start a family, and place deep roots in the Emma community, particularly Emma Baptist Church for almost sixty years. Irene took pride in preparing and teaching an adult women’s Sunday School class for 30 + years, always calling them “her girls.” Irene loved to read, visit and reminisce, and to “hold court” on all matters important to her. Irene loved to work at the polls every election day. She was a prolific gardener and her annual canning was a work of art. She loved to eat and was known for her sweet tooth; each dessert was the best she had ever had!
Irene is survived by her two children, Phillip V. Harris and spouse Sarah, of Marshall, and her daughter, Elizabeth Harris-Lamkin and spouse James, of Atlanta. Her love and faithful support was beyond measure and she sealed it with the daily mantra “I love you more than you will ever know.”
Her siblings, Dorothy Cody, Jack Phillips and spouse, Kathleen, Robert Phillips and spouse, Bernice, all reside in Mars Hill. Her nieces and nephews and their families are local.
The family extends deep gratitude to all who helped Irene in recent years_ Linda Sobeziak of Advantage Care Svs, Dr. Tom Kaluzynski and team at Memory Care Center, neighbors and church friends, and the staff of the Aston Park Health Care Center. The family especially thanks her beloved friend and lifelong neighbor, Jack Hyder and his wife Diane, for their meticulous and loving watch care over her life, home and overall well-being.
Blue Ridge Funeral Service of Mars Hill is handling arrangements. The funeral will be held on Thursday, April 26 at 1pm at the Bright Hope Laurel United Methodist Church, 271 Laurel Valley Rd, Mars Hill, NC 28754. The Reverend James Lamkin will officiate. Visitation and a reception will follow at the church. Interment will be nearby in the Lower English Cemetery where Irene wanted to be buried near her parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and the others of Upper Laurel who shaped her ‘storied’ life.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Memory Care Center, 100 Far Horizon Lane, Asheville, NC 28803, memorycare.org; or to Emma Baptist Church, 520 N Louisiana Ave, Asheville, NC 28806.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blueridgefuneralservice.org
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