Mary Louise Harris

Mary Louise Harris was born in Ottawa, Kansas on May 6, 1928 to Wilma and Logan Fulks. She was their third child and only daughter. Mary was surrounded by aunts and uncles (13 of them) and her cousins and grandparents on her mother’s side, Charles and Martha Andrews. Charles was a charter member of the Ottawa Church of Christ. Mary was baptized into Christ when she was 13 by her grandfather.

When she was 13, the family moved to Wichita, Kansas and her dad went to work for Boeing. She only met her dad’s parents once when they took the long family drive to Washington State. When Mary attended East High School she was president of the Jags, a girls’ social group. During this time, two events occurred that forever shaped her life. Her brother Warren was killed in the war and the dynamic of her family changed. It returned to more happy days when her baby brother, Fred, was born. She also met the love of her life, Bob Harris. They were married January 26, 1947.

Bob worked for Burroughs Corporation relocated to St. Louis, Detroit, and Pratt (Ks). Bob traveled so Mary raised the children, often by herself. She ferried the three kids to all sporting events and was their loudest cheerleader. Mary enjoyed laying out by the city pool while the kids swam, her church activities, bowling, and bridge.

Additional relocations took them back to Wichita (where the boys graduated from HS), then Hutchinson, Kansas. Mom was promoted to Director of Personnel at First National Bank of Hutchinson. That was quite an accomplishment for a high school grad! It was here they met Patsy and JB Tarr at church and they all agreed to move to Bella Vista, Arkansas someday.

In Bella Vista, they built a beautiful home on a lake. Shortly after, JB and Patsy followed, and friends of theirs and more friends. Mary considered the time they spent in Bella Vista as the happiest time of their marriage. Mary and Bob were healthy and they enjoyed getting together with their church friends for dinners, games, traveling, etc. In addition to attending the Bella Vista Church of Christ, she was involved in The Christian Women’s Club, Beta Sigma Phi, and Altrusa. While in Bella Vista Mary broke two hips and had a heart attack but even those two events only slowed her down for a short time.

In 1984, visiting Becky in Tampa, she met Jill Beckstedt (at church) who introduced her to MaryKay products - and the rest is history. This provided fun and a feeling of achievement throughout her life. She was the recipient of 9 career cars and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bob passed away in 2010 after a short illness. She continued to live alone and enjoy most of her activities until 2019, when she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law in Venice, Florida. The friends she met in Venice made her stay a happy one.

Bob and Mary had three children: Becky (Dan) McCartney, Rod (Valerie) Harris and Kent Harris; and one grandchild Benji Harris. She has a large extended family of grandchildren: Mary McCartney, Megan McCartney (preceded her in death), Chris Buddie, Laura Kammerer, and Katie Rivas. She also was blessed with extended cousins, nieces, nephews and great grands. Her brothers, Lee Fulks, Garry Fulks and Warren Fulks preceded her in death. She is survived by her brothers John Fulks (Vicki) and Fred Fulks (Sharon).

Services will be held at the South Trail Church of Christ, 5601 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 1:00 PM. Mary will be laid to rest in the Ottawa cemetery next to her husband, Bob.

The service at South Trail Church of Christ will be live streamed at https://lifewave.com/bmccartney

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the South Trail Church of Christ (PO Box 19825, Sarasota Fl. 34276) to be designated to Cross Over ministry in India.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.rtsfunerals.com or www.wiegandbrothers.com for the Harris family.