Jennifer Ann Harris

Jennifer Ann Harris, a devoted mother, and friend, passed away at age 56 after a fearless battle with stage IV colon cancer at Pruitt Health Care Hospice Facility in Milton, Florida on August 9th, 2022, surrounded by her son, Taylor Harris, and lifelong friend, Larry Harris.

Jennifer was born on March 3rd, 1966 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Susan Lyn Millington and raised by adopted father LeRoy “Lee” Allen Krohn. Jennifer lived life on her own terms, full of travel and adventure. During her early years, Jennifer and her younger half-siblings, Christopher and Vanessa Krohn traveled around the world from Germany to Cuba. With her father on active duty, Jennifer acted as a motherly figure to her two younger siblings from her early teenage years: cooking, shopping, and overall raising them before settling down in Pensacola, Florida. Jennifer graduated from Tate High School in 1984, then continued her education at Pensacola Junior College, graduating with a degree in Cosmetology and beginning her career at Ted’s Casual Cuts in 1985. Shortly after she fell in love and married her coworker Larry Harris, and in 1988 Jennifer gave birth to her only son Taylor. When asked recently what her earliest ambitions in life were, Jennifer said, “I always wanted to be a mother”. As an avid gardener and decorator extraordinaire, her home on Keating Road arguably turned the most heads of driver’s passing by in the early 2000s, and was a true reflection of Jennifer’s inner eccentricity, decorated with a diverse array of eclectic yard-art acquired during a lifetime of trips to the Fairhope Arts Festival, and numerous other hole-in-the-wall art boutiques.

In 2008, a distraught Black Labrador puppy wandered up to her back door, lost and afraid. Jennifer nourished her newfound pup to health, and so began a 14-year friendship that was one of the most meaningful relationships in her life. Jennifer continued to travel the world throughout her life, vacationing in Italy, New York City, and the Southwestern US; visiting the Grand Canyon in the early 1990s and spending nearly a year living in Colorado later in life. From 2014 onward, Jennifer made several trips each year to visit her son in Denver, Colorado. She recalled these being of the happiest moments of her life, in awe of majestic snow-capped mountain vistas and peaceful babbling brooks. In the winter of 2017, Jennifer had the best Christmas of her life spent with friends and her son in an AirBnB in Denver, relaxing in the hot tub while the snow drifted lightly all around. She returned to Pensacola in late 2018, after relishing in the proudest moment of her life, when Taylor graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder’s college of Chemical Engineering.

Jennifer was well known throughout the East Hill area as a hair stylist for 38+ years, gaining many lifelong friendships along the way. Her devotion to empowering women through her profession was exemplified in a feature story in the March 2015 issue of Bella Magazine for the “wig therapy” she provided to clients with alopecia and chemotherapy-induced hair loss. In her own words, Jennifer Harris lived her life, “with no plan; by the seat of my pants procrastinating all the way” and hopes that others have learned through her experiences that, “all mistakes can be corrected”. Despite this nontraditional approach she lived a meaningful life of faith and friendship that shall be sorely missed. Jennifer is survived by her son, Taylor Harris (34), beloved dog Darla (14), and a host of friends, far too many to mention.

A life so beautifully lived deserves to be exquisitely remembered. Please join us for her Celebration of Life at Unity of Pensacola Church on Thursday, September 8th, 2022, at 6pm.

In lieu of flowers, Jennifer requested that donations be made to Unity of Pensacola Church.