Frances W Harris

Frances W. Harris, 97, of Rumson, New Jersey, passed away on March 27, 2018. Frances was born in Richmond, Virginia, to the late Guy Leon and Anna Matta W. in 1920.

In 1941, Frances received her bachelor’s degree in English (also studying French, German, and Latin) from Westhampton College, University of Richmond, and later studied Library Science at the University of Virginia. After teaching in both Beaverdam and Stony Creek schools in rural Virginia, Frances married James R. Harris (later, a Bell Labs engineer) in 1943 and moved to New York City. The family later moved to Morristown, New Jersey, where Frances taught Sunday school at the First Presbyterian Church. After another move to Rumson, Frances served as Sunday school superintendent at the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, where she taught the Presbyterian Women’s Bible Study and was an integral member of the church’s Historic Committee. Frances was an excellent seamstress who also loved to crochet, cook, listen to music, read, travel, and do New York Times Split Decision word puzzles. Most of all, Frances loved the time she spent at home with her family and her many dear friends.

Frances was predeceased by her beloved husband, James R. Harris.

Surviving are her children: Richard W. Harris of New York, N.Y.; Betty A. Harris and her husband, Edmund Moeller, of Princeton, N.J.; and Beverly J. Harris and her husband, George Ott, of Rumson, N.J.; her daughters-in-law: Caroline Gower and Latifa Benkader; her grandchildren: Christopher and Yvonne Harris, Melissa M. Fliedner and her husband, Jim Fliedner, and Christopher and Rebekah Moeller; and her great-grandchildren: Nicholas, Emily, and John Richard.

There will be a memorial service and reception on Saturday, April 14, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson. Disposition will be handled privately. Memorial contributions can be made in Frances’s name to the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, 4 E. River Rd, Rumson, NJ 07760.