Brenda L. Harris

Brenda was born November 23, 1957, in Honolulu, HI to Charles Harris and Eileen Lanita Duke. At the time of her birth, Brenda’s father was in the Marine Corps, and her mother was a housewife. Brenda lived in Santa Ana and Cypress as a girl, where she attended Monte Vista Elementary, Oxford Junior High, and Cypress High schools. As a young girl, Brenda was interested in ballet, and was the Santa Ana Fire Department’s choice for Miss Spark.

Brenda went to work at Southern California Edison in 1980. However, she decided in 2001 to pursue her dream of being a professional photographer full time. She opened two businesses, a matting and framing business and as a special occasions photographer. She loved how photography enabled her to show people how beautiful they were.

Brenda was raised in the Methodist church, and recently attended Cottonwood Church of Los Alamitos. Brenda enjoyed reading and watching television and movies. She loved recounting story lines and plot developments, and was a great story teller. Brenda enjoyed traveling, especially with her mom, and took many trips with family and friends. She cherished the children around her, whether they were relatives, friend’s children or just neighborhood kids.

Brenda’s beloved parents passed away in 1997 and 1999. She is survived by her brothers Charles “Chuck”, Richard “Rick” and Jon, her nephews Justin and Julian, her extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins, and her dearest friends.

In lieu of cards and flowers, donations may be sent in memory of Brenda Lanita Harris to the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org, or in memory of her mother Eileen Lanita Harris to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.