Virginia Beck Harris, age 88, was a nurse, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She passed away peacefully of natural causes on March 1, 2021. Virginia moved to Arizona as a young child. She attended St. Mary's Grade School and High School and Phoenix Union High School. She went to Arizona State College for a couple of years before she was married to Joseph William Harris, Sr. Together they had 9 children.
Virginia went back to college in the 1960s. She graduated with an RN degree from Phoenix College of Nursing in 1967 and began working at Good Samaritan Hospital in the B-3 Nursery, which was the original NICU. At that time, it was known as the preemie nursery. She obtained her Baccalaureate in Nursing from Arizona State University in the early 1970s. She spent a year on the White Mountain Apache Reservation working for the Federal Government in a health care program called Project Apache. When she moved back to Phoenix, she became a Newborn Intensive Care Follow-Up Nurse where she worked with newborns and their families in their homes. She loved that position dearly. She eventually became the Director of Nursing for the Newborn Intensive Care Follow-Up Program for the state. She retired from nursing but never lost her love for newborns.
As a nurse and a loving family member, she cared for and assisted her family and extended family members through illness, births and deaths. She was extraordinarily gifted in the care of newborns and children and she helped countless new mothers improve their children's development. She could always be counted on to babysit her many grandchildren at a moment's notice. She was a kind and caring neighbor who offered help whenever needed.
Virginia was an avid reader and instilled the love of reading and libraries in all of her children. She read aloud to her kids every night, exposing them to the old classics. She loved Arizona sunsets, desert rain and embarking on camping trips with the family. She was known for celebrating birthdays and Christmas in a big way every year, making events extra special. She would have kept her Christmas tree up all year around if it were up to her! She was a faithful Catholic all her life and continued to watch Mass on television when she was no longer able to attend in person. She looked forward to receiving the sacrament of communion every week.
Virginia was loved very much by her large, extended family and will be greatly missed. She is survived by her nine children: Joe, Becky (Rod), Pam, Peggy (Eric), Tommy (Dawn), Timmy (Jenni), Kathleen (Bob), Peter (Marna) and Penni, along with 20 grandchildren: Zach, Michael, Abraham, Julia, Elektra, Alexis, Kelsey, Timmy, Amanda, Jake, Stefan, Thomas, Robert, Joseph III, James, Robbie, Bradley, Desi, Roxanne and Bethany; 18 great-grandchildren: Jordan, Lainie, Skyler, William, Harley, Bronte, Adlai, Monet, Brayden, Athena, Kellen, Harper, Reese, Parker, Simone, Cecelia, Shepherd and Winnie; nieces & nephews: Susie, Sandi, Jack, Richard, Lucy, Patrick, Shelley, Toni and Michele, and several great-nieces & nephews, along with her sister, Rosalie Skarupa of Oak Lawn, Illinois.
Graveside services will be held at a later date.
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