Bertha Marie Harris

on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Austin, TX.

Born on February 27, 1936 in Yoakum, TX, to parents James Edward Ward Sr. and Mary Anna Ward, Bertha lived a life of faith and dedication, with a deep love of family and a continual desire to serve others though her work, her creativity, and her leadership.

After graduating from St. Joseph's Catholic School in Yoakun,Texas, Bertha attended classes at a local business college before marrying Vernon Harris in 1956 and accompanying him on his assignment in Germany with the United States Army. Bertha was a tireless worker and natural leader who loved to organize activities and help others Professionally, she served for many years in the 1980s and 1990s as the executive director of the Texas Academy of General Dentistry, helping to create the TAGD Lone Star logo and to launch the Lone Star Dental Conference, both of which are still in use today. Bertha was always involved in the activities of her daughters, Cheryl and Holly, and her five grandchildren. She also enthusiastically supported her husband Vernon in their creation of the Harris Cattle Company, which raised Red Brangus for more than a decade, and in their participation in the Austin and Bastrop rose societies.

Bertha had a passion for sewing and quilting, and in her retirement she started a quilting group in Elgin, TX called “Peace by Piece Quilters.” Initially a group of eleven women from the Elgin area, Peace by Piece sought to create heirloom-quality art that would help meet the needs of economically underprivileged children in the area. They met twice a week at a local bank and church to create more than forty quilted blankets each year and dozens of book bags, which were then provided to the Advocacy Outreach organization to be given to children in need for Christmas. Bertha also showed her quilts and won awards in quilting bees throughout Texas, and had many of her quilts professionally photographed and displayed at exhibitions before being donated, often to children.

Bertha and her family were also long time members of First Baptist Church of Austin, where she served as a deacon for two decades, as chair for multiple committees, and as an enthusiastic assistant for the children’s music ministry. Bertha often told the story of how the music ministry at First Baptist Church is what led the Harris family to join almost six decades ago. Bertha also contributed and assisted in the creation of many of the banners that have graced the FBC sanctuary over the years.

Bertha is preceded in death by her husband, Vernon Claude Harris Jr., her father, James E. Ward Sr., mother Mary Anna (Polasek) Ward, brother-in-law Buddy Grigsby, and son-in-law John Sharp. She is survived by sisters Patricia Smith (husband Larry) and Mary Grigsby, brother James E. Ward Jr. (wife Liz), daughters Cheryl (Harris) Sharp and Holly (Harris) Phillip (husband Michael), grandchildren Danielle Sharp, Jared Sharp, Nicole (Phillip) Conselman (husband Charley), Larissa Phillip and Kristen Phillip, nephews Larry Smith Jr. and James “Trey” Ward III, and nieces Kimberly Smith Mikolajczyk, Kathy (Grigsby) Mikolajczyk, and Jamie Ward.

A visitation, coordinated by Cook-Walden Funeral Home, will be held on Saturday, August 3, at First Baptist Church of Austin at (901 Trinity St.) at 11:00 am, followed by a memorial service and celebration of life at 12:00 noon and a burial at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery immediately afterwards.

Donations in memory and gratitude for the life of Bertha Harris may be made to the Music Ministry at First Baptist Church of Austin.