Elizabeth Harris

Elizabeth Gallegly Harris, formerly known as Elizabeth Gallegly Vanderzyl, was born on May 14, 1936 and raised in Houston, Texas. She was the only child of Joseph and Carmen Gallegly. She graduated from Lamar High School in 1954 and attended Rice University and was a member of the class of 1958. She married Richard Vanderzyl in December 1956 while both attended Rice University but actually completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Mary Hardin Baylor University, Belton, Texas, in 1959 while her husband was stationed at Fort Hood.

Returning to Houston after his military service was complete, she soon began teaching at St Thomas Episcopal School where she taught for many years. She taught High School English and some middle school Latin and in her later years there, she oversaw the preparation of the Yearbook for many years. She moved to Second Baptist School in Houston and continued teaching there for many years.

After many years teaching in Houston, she reconnected with an old boyfriend, Robert S. Harris who had also attended Rice University. She married Robert Harris in 1997, left Houston to move to downtown Los Angeles, and immersed herself into the life of faculty wife at University of Southern California where Bob was the Dean of the School of Architecture. She also spent many years involved at St. James in the City Episcopal Church, both in their music program as well as their weekly soup kitchen for the homeless.

An accomplished pianist herself, Elizabeth found James Dick an inspiration as she frequently returned to Texas to attend the Round Top Summer Music Festival of which she was a longtime subscriber.

Her greatest passion, however, was the Gamble House, a historic arts and crafts home In Pasadena, California, a few miles north of downtown Los Angeles, managed at that time by the USC School of Architecture. The Gamble House has a robust Docent Council with over 200 docents. She trained as a docent, volunteering to give tours of the house to guests. She helped organize and oversaw other docents who gave tours. She was so skilled that she was invited to give the most complex tour, the lengthy Behind the Velvet Ropes. She became very active, helping in many different ways: participated in the Flower Committee, designing Japanese Ikebana arrangements to display in the house each week; chaired the Ongoing Education Committee arranging for docents to tour other historic sites and providing reciprocal tours to docents from those sites; trained the junior docents, 7th grade students who provided tours to every third grader in the Pasadena Unified School District; gave talks to local community groups about the arts and crafts movement and how it played a role in Pasadena and Southern California; served as the President of the Docent Council from 2004 to 2006. The Gamble House was not her only cultural love in Southern California. She was the best ambassador for cultural Los Angeles, especially the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Throughout her stay in Los Angeles, she touched many lives and is fondly remembered there.

After many years of active life in California and fitting in lots of traveling in the US, Europe and even China, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and had to slow down. Finally, in 2020 she and Bob came back to Houston and moved into the Hallmark where they have remained ever since surrounded by friends and lots of activities in which she could stay involved.

Elizabeth is survived by her husband, Bob; her children: Laura (Gilbert) Jennett, Rick Vanderzyl, John (Jolene) Vanderzyl; and her grandchildren: Karen Jennett (Thomas Charles), Andrew (Marissa) Jennett, Audrey (Nicolas) Carni, and Rachel Vanderzyl.

The family wishes to extend appreciation to caregivers Eurica Howard, Tasha Harris, Arneshia Baker and Sharmayne Clewis for their loving care.

A Memorial Service will begin at 1:00PM on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at St Thomas Episcopal Church, 4900 Jackwood St., Houston, TX 77096 with the internment following right after at the columbarium there.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Gamble House, the Joseph S. Gallegly and Margaret Carmen Gallegly Scholarship of Rice University, or the charity of your choice.

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