Ernestine Parker Harris

Ernestine Parker Harris

Spirited daughter, mischievous sister, loving wife, favorite aunt, faithful church member, and loyal friend--Ernestine Parker Harris was all of these and more. Ernestine was born in Austin, Texas on December 29, 1928; the middle child of parents Dorothy Duncan and Clina O.Z. Parker, Sr.

The Parkers moved from Texas to California like many thousands of African Americans of the Second Great Migration. Ernestine’s family settled in San Diego, CA., where she attended San Diego High School. While living in San Diego, Ernestine met a young sailor, Cleveland Harris. He swept her off her feet, then convinced her to marry him and move to Barstow, California.

In the approximately sixty years that Ernestine Harris lived in Barstow, she made her presence felt and tried to make a difference. She was actively involved in various social justice organizations like the NAACP, social groups like the Ebonettes, and, most importantly, in her church community at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Although she had no children of her own, her nieces, nephews, and her friends' children all remember her slipping them a treat or a “little piece of change” for a birthday or a holiday or “just because.” Ernestine also worked as a computer programmer for thirty years at the Marine Corps Logistics Base. Her energy and enthusiasm about going somewhere, doing something, or befriending someone continued long after she retired.

Ernestine Harris passed from this life on Sunday, November 25, 2018. She was preceded in death by husband, Cleveland Harris; parents, Dorothy and Clina Parker, Sr.; brother Clina Parker, Jr.,; and niece Randall Elaine Miller. Ernestine is survived by her loving sister Dorothy (Parker) Miller of Sn Diego, CA; her sister-in-law Addye Parker of Pflugerville, TX; her nieces Elizabeth (Michael) Weldon of Buenos Aires, Argentina; Nancy Cassel of Galena Park, TX; Winifred Tolson of Houston, TX; Patricia (Robert) Scotlan of El Sobrante, CA; Karen K. Miller of Newton, MA; Rachelle Faulk of Washington, DC; Debra Nelson of Los Angeles; grand nieces and nephews, Erik, Jonathan, Gregory, Chartese, Sasha, Whitney, and Adam; and an extended network of family and wonderful friends.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.meadcares.com for the Harris family.