In the early hours of August 25th, 2023, Marie Anita Harris left this world while in the loving embrace of her husband Stephen Harris. Marie’s life was one full of joy that she freely shared in equal measure with friends, family, and strangers.
Born on July 15th, 1944, in Oklahoma City, to Glen and Dorris Melton, Marie was the third child of four in the Melton family. During the war, Marie and her older sister Pat and brother Bob stayed with their Grandparents, Ralph and Mollie Hyett in Houston.
Following the war, Marie’s family was fully reunited and set down roots in Houston and eventually welcomed Marie’s baby brother Jim. Her family of 6 lived in a small two-bedroom house with winter heat provided by the flame of the gas stove. Despite the modesty of the house and neighborhood Marie only ever spoke fondly of playing with the other neighborhood kids until Dad whistled to come home for dinner.
As a child Marie was often sick – probably because she refused to eat her green beans. Her grandparents, Ralph and Mollie Hyett, took it upon themselves to take care of Marie when she was ill. Marie specifically remembered times when her grandparents would take her to see the scary Dr. Shaffer when she was 7 or 8 years old. The doctor’s office required climbing a very dark and gloomy staircase, only to sit in an equally gloomy waiting room. Following her penicillin injection, she’d usually pass out.
When Marie was eight (1952), she celebrated Christmas with German measles at Ralph and Mollie’s house. She remembered being quarantined in an upstairs bedroom and was forced to eat dinner alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their turkey, pies, and Aunt LaVon’s coffee downstairs.
Marie fondly remembered joining her Grandpa Ralph and Grandma Mollie on a vacation/business trip to Illinois. They visited the house that Ralph grew up in which was surrounded with a marvelous field of corn. On the way home to Texas, they made a surprise stop in Guthrie, Oklahoma where the mischievous Marie knocked on the door of her other grandparents’ house (the Meltons) and sold them several boxes of girl scout cookies (without a uniform or cookies anywhere in sight) before they realized they were being bamboozled by their own granddaughter.
As Marie told it, after graduating from high school, she didn’t have many skills, but she had no choice but to get a job so she could support herself and pay for the university education that she had always wanted but her family couldn’t afford. Following a frustrating six months at secretary school, she quit. Once again, her Grandpa Ralph threw her a welcome lifeline. He drove her all over downtown Houston to a variety of oil companies resulting in a secretarial job at Humble Oil and Refining Company, now Exxon. Ralph further helped her secure a loan for her very first car - a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair (not the Corvette Marie really wanted).
The job and the car enabled Marie to enroll at the University of Houston where she learned how to make a notably delicious lasagna and earned a degree in biology (although she loved her calculus class so much that she almost switched to a mathematics major).
Her Grandparents weren’t the only ones to shape young Marie’s life. Her lifelong passion for sewing was instilled in her at a young age through the guidance of her Aunt LaVon Hyett and her mother Doris both of whom were skilled seamstresses. Throughout her life Marie would make clothes, quilts, and decorations for her family and friends. Much of the woman Marie would become in her life was due to LaVon’s influence. Marie’s legendary determination and drive was learned from her Aunt LaVon. As the most outspoken and assertive of Marie’s five Hyett Aunts and Uncles, LaVon was an excellent example. LaVon was also a great cook and baker, so you owe a thanks to LaVon for all those tasty dinners and pies Marie made for you.
Some of Marie’s other traits were learned from her father, Glen Melton, who was meticulous and super organized. However, Marie’s stubbornness was 100% self-taught. By the age of three she was winning battles of attrition against her parents by refusing to eat her veggies.
Although she didn’t know it at the time, Marie met the love of her life in her high school biology class.
In the summer of 1973 (9 years after she graduated high school) Marie reunited with that boy from high school biology, Steve Harris. After playing a little hard to get, Steve finally convinced Marie to go for a bike ride with him and their 49-year romance really began. Their courtship included many camping trips to national parks. Marie and Steve were a true match as their shared love of the outdoors took them on many adventures together. Marie and Steve first lived together in a house with a cracked foundation and several bean bag chairs.
On May 4th, 1974, Marie married Steve in a modest ceremony in Houston. They celebrated with mini golf, followed by a honeymoon in Galveston.
Two years later (1976), Marie and Steve relocated to North Carolina where Marie worked at the University of North Carolina and Steve worked for the National Institutes of Health. During their time there the couple’s outdoor adventures continued. They fell in love with the mountains of Colorado and eventually built a family cabin there.
Speaking of family, in 1979 Marie’s dream of motherhood was granted when the couple welcomed their daughter Micheleen.
Motherhood didn’t slow down Marie’s adventurous spirit. She and Steve took Micheleen on her first camping trip (of hundreds) when Micheleen was only 6 months old. Marie’s love of all things outdoors infected her daughter Micheleen. Marie was incredibly proud to see Micheleen become a proficient technical mountain climber.
In 1983, the Harris family moved to the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. During their 7 years in Lake Placid, Marie and Steve worked in the same molecular biology laboratory at the W. Alton Jones Cell Science Center. Steve found the best lab partner he could ask for. Marie’s exacting nature and keen eye for detail kept the lab running smoothly and even afforded Marie time to help the grad students and other faculty. Micheleen has cherished memories of playing in the lab alongside Marie as she worked. As a mother, Marie taught Micheleen patience and kindness while instilling the same drive for success and a passion for science and technology that was a cornerstone in Marie’s life.
In 1990, the Harris family made one final move to San Antonio where Marie and Steve continued to work together in a lab in the Periodontics Department at University of Texas San Antonio until she retired in 2021. Marie designed a beautiful home and abundant gardens for her family in the Texas Hill Country where she welcomed friends and family for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for 30 years. Her home was a gathering place full of acceptance, love, and delicious food that she insisted on making for you with the quantity of pies seemingly increasing year after year. Her generosity, kindness, beautiful grin, and infectious laugh can never be replaced.
Marie is survived by and greatly missed by her brothers Jim (Beth) Melton and Bob (Evelyn) Melton, her sister Pat Taylor, her husband Steve Harris, and her daughter Micheleen (Rob Callaway) Harris.
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