Laine Harris

Laine was born on May 23, 1938 in Houston, Texas to Henry Alton and Shirley Marie (Keating) Austin. She attended All Saints Catholic School and St Agnes Academy before graduating from Reagan High School (now known as Heights High School), all in Houston. It was while attending the University of Houston that she met her husband, William “Bill” Harris. Laine and Bill were married on June 21, 1958 and celebrated 65 years of marriage this past June. They were blessed with 2 children; William, Jr “Billy” and Rosemarie.

Laine and Bill spent the first 20 years of their life together in Houston and Pearland. During this time she was an active member of the Cinderella Garden Club of Westbury, St Thomas More Catholic Church in Houston and St Helen Catholic Church in Pearland. She also enjoyed gardening, sewing, playing bridge and golf. Laine and Bill spent 5 years in Princeton, KY before moving back to Houston in 1982. A job opportunity brought them to Austin in 1989 where they put down roots and found their “City of Austin” family. They joined St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church that year and Laine was an active member of many organizations there until the last several years as her health declined. Laine served multiple terms as the President of the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary (KOCA) as well as being a member of the Choir and Prime Timers. Foremost among her many passions was being a Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

In 1990 Laine took a job as the Receptionist at the Borden Dairy in Austin. She became the point person in the office. She was the consummate “greeter”, knowing everyone that worked there by name. Always the homemaker, employee birthdays were typically celebrated with a homemade cake baked by Laine. She retired in 2000 so that she and Bill could begin taking extended RV trips from May to September. That summer they traveled thru the Western US and Canada to Alaska visiting all the way to Prudhoe Bay. Returning back to Texas through the Midwest they also visited Laine’s cousins in Illinois. In total they were gone for 4 months. The plan was to do a similar trip the next summer to the Northeast US and Eastern Canada. That trip never happened. Realizing that the RV life was not for her, Laine was welcomed back to Borden Dairy and “re-retired” in 2005.

Staying busy was never a problem for Laine. Between church and KOCA activities, 5 bridge clubs and 2 grandchildren in Oklahoma, Laine was always moving. But if there was anything Laine loved more than her family, church and friends, it was traveling. As an alternative to the RV, Laine and Bill starting traveling to Europe. This time the plan was to take trips either on their own to sightsee or with their church family to see sacred Catholic sights. Trips abroad included Ireland, England, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Holy Land of Israel. A few of these trips involved rental cars and driving on the opposite side of the road; some were on tour buses, staying in a different hotel every night. But the most enjoyable were the River Cruises they took later in life.

Their last cruise was this past August on the Upper Mississippi River with Bill’s youngest brother joining them. Laine always cherished family but was especially grateful for the time in 2020/2021 when her little sister Diane came to stay with her and Bill during a time of illness.

Laine is preceded in death by her parents, her brother Dennis Austin and her sister Shirley Yates. In 2007, Laine and Bill suffered the ultimate loss when they lost their son Billy and his wife Martha in a boating accident. She is survived by her husband Bill, daughter Rose and husband Mike Cassidy of Scottsdale, AZ, granddaughter Jordan Cassidy and fiancé Steve Rodack of Phoenix, AZ, grandson John Cassidy of Dallas, TX, sister Diane Caudell of Talladega, AL, brother-in-law Joe and wife Gloria Harris of Cedar Mountain, NC, brother-in-law James Harris of Palo Alto, CA and numerous nieces and nephews.

A visitation and rosary service will be held on Thursday, November 30 from 6-8pm at Cook Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home, 6300 West William Cannon Drive, Austin, TX. A funeral mass will be held Friday December 1 at 10am at St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 4800 Convict Hill Road, Austin. A graveside service will be held Saturday, December 2 at 11am at Madisonville Cemetery, 730 West Trinity Street, Madisonville, TX.