Bessie Wimberly Harness

Bessie was born March 12, 1926 to Bessie Rosa Atkins and

Luther Gilbert Wimberly in Sweetwater, Tennessee.

She graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1945 and started her career as a Security Clerk for the Atomic Energy Commission at

Oak Ridge, Tennessee before transferring to Washington, D.C.

She was passionate about her career with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Military Construction Division; where she saved lives and captured hearts throughout the United States and from Okinawa to the Middle East.

She assigned personnel and their required equipment to military hotspots around the world, as well as to environmental disasters impacting civilian populations. Her rapid response won her annual “Sustaining Superior Service Awards” throughout her career. She retired in 1972 due to complications of an accident that left her partially crippled; through much effort she overcame her handicap.

Bessie is preceded in death by her husband, Dwaine Marvin Harness who passed away June 10, 2016, shortly after a fire that destroyed their home. Bessie sustained burns over 90 % of her body and spent several months and many surgeries before being released from MedStar Hospital, Burn Unit in Washington, DC.

She returned to Cove Point and built a new home.

She and Dwaine retired to the home they built together at Cove Point, Maryland; where she enjoyed the natural beauty and bountiful wild life of the Chesapeake Bay. She became a particular friend of the local feral cats that she rescued with great regularity.

Their home was the scene of many happy memories where their family and friends gathered for birthdays, holidays and just

to have fun on the beach.

She died peacefully at her home on October 24, 2023