TOPEKA, KS—Barbara Jean Harris passed away on Thursday, November 28, 2024, at the age of 94. She was born September 6, 1930 in Quincy, IL to the late Laura Katherine (Freeman) and Ray Alden Wolfe, both of Ellsworth, KS. Hers was a long, full, amazing life.
She attended Westport High School in Kansas City, KS and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She graduated Cum Laude from Wichita State University with a BA in Music Education.
She laughed about her work as a scrapper at the Hallmark Card Factory in Kansas City and as a singer with a dance band in Albuquerque. She took great pride in her tenure as a K-12 music teacher in the Lindsborg, KS public schools, but her lifelong pursuit was service, most notably within musical organizations.
She served and supported Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for 74 years. She was initiated into Alpha Sigma Chapter at the University of New Mexico in January 1950, and became a charter member of the Wichita (KS) Alumnae Chapter in November 1965. In that chapter she served as Vice President, Chaplain, and President, serving on every committee at least twice, as well as Region 3 Summer Music Scholarship Chairman. She served the fraternity at national triennial conventions with the committees for nominations and resolutions, and served as Theta Province President for seven years. During that time, she helped organize the Zeta Alpha Chapter at Wichita State University, serving as one of the installing officers and as chapter advisor. In addition, she served one term as National Yearbook and Program Counselor and one term as National Program Director. In recognition of her tireless service to the fraternity, she was awarded the Sword of Honor and the Rose of Honor.
She was an active member of Grace Presbyterian Church in Wichita, where she served as a church school leader, Mariner officer, and church Elder. Though she was not a camper by any stretch of the imagination, she established annual retreats to Westminster Woods church camp for the families of the Liner Sunday School Class. New Year’s Eve parties hosted by Barbara and her late husband Morris were intergenerational, and a Liner tradition.
Church music was a big part of her community life. She directed church choirs in Wichita at First Presbyterian, Plymouth Congregational, and Grace Presbyterian, and she was a soloist at Mount Olive Christian and St. James Episcopal. She also served as secretary for the Wichita Church Musician’s Guild.
Beyond her activities with SAI and church, she was an active participant in a variety of community groups. She was secretary of the Wichita Symphony Women’s Association and she volunteered with Meals on Wheels. She sang with the Wichita Choral Society and the Bethany College Oratorio Society. Through the Girl Scouts, she served as a troop leader and an all city chorus director, for which she received the Thanks Award. For her service to her local PTA as president and vice president at A.A. Hyde Elementary School, she received an Honorary Life Membership.
She enjoyed travel, across the United States and across Europe, to Canada, Mexico and Russia. Quilting became a hobby in her later years and many of her masterpieces are family treasures.
She moved to Topeka three years after the passing of her husband, where she made new friends at Brewster Place and First Presbyterian Church. She affiliated with local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and PEO and, of course, the Topeka Alumnae of SAI.
Throughout her life, reading was a passion. During the Depression, she and her parents moved a great deal, but she always had a small trunk filled with her favorite books. When she settled in Wichita, she amassed a great fortune in books. When she moved to Topeka, she downsized to a two-bedroom apartment—one room for her and the other for her books. Her extensive personal collection of reference materials on the subject of hymnology has been gifted to a regional outlet specializing in religious texts.
She is survived by her three daughters, Patricia Gunter and her husband Michael of Austin, TX, Nancy McKenzie and her husband Douglas of Azle, TX, and Judy Coder and her wife Jennifer Epps of Ellensburg, WA; grandchildren Lindsay, Brian, Sarah, Amber, and Matthew; and 11 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents and by her husband, Morris Touchstone Harris.
She will be deeply missed by her family, her wide circle of friends, and all who knew her.
Memorial Contributions can be made to Brewster Place Benevolence Fund attn Cheryl 1205 SW 29th St. Topeka KS 66611 or Sigma Alpha Lota Philanthropies, Inc. One Tunnel Rd. Asheville NC. 28805
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