Deirdre Renee Harris

Deirdre Darby, known to close friends and family as “Dee”, was born September 9th, 1951, in New York City, New York. She was the second of two children, born to Mose and Arline (Skinner) Darby. She attended Our Lady Queen of Angels Elementary School located in Manhattan, NY and graduated from Pius V High School, located in the Bronx. She later attended City College of New York.

In the late 60s, she met and married Virgil Sims and they had a son in February of 1971, whom they named Leander Scott Sims. Deirdre was tragically widowed in 1976.

Deirdre worked for the Transit Authority (TA) in NY for two decades starting as a typist and ending as a Human Resources Administrator.

In the late 70s, Deirdre met Melvin Harris and they married in May of 1981. They settled in Queens, NY, where they had their daughter, Jamila Arline. Along with their son, Scott, this union completed her family.

After completing her career at the TA, Deirdre pursued her interest in the Aviation field by taking a job in Customer Service at America West Airlines. After the acquisition of the company, she worked in an administrative capacity at a private school in Brooklyn, NY.

In 2001, she learned of an emerging new airline company named JetBlue Airways and was subsequently hired to their People Department as a Hiring Recruiter. During her years at JetBlue, she forged lifetime relationships with many Crewmembers and made an impact on everyone she met. She loved working for JetBlue and was affectionately nicknamed “Momma Dee” by her fellow crew. In 2010, she moved from JetBlue’s NY office to their Orlando office and joined the Orlando Inflight Administrative team. Dee retired from JetBlue in 2016, taking with her happy and loving memories and a plethora of friends whom she often referred to as her JetBlue family.

Deirdre was a captivating personality-- to know her was to love her. She was a kind and sweet Soul and always considerate of others. She was an exceptional listener and was always available to give meaningful advice and comfort. She was devoted to her family and made sure they wanted for nothing.

In March of 2023, her beloved son Scott lost his battle to Colon Cancer. Deirdre was devastated and heartbroken over this loss. During this time, she was also diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which along with her broken heart, ultimately caused her transition.

Deirdre is survived by her husband Melvin, daughter Jamila Arline (Harris) Badger, her brother Douglas Darby, grandsons Blake James Badger and Jalen Scott Sims, granddaughter Jeslyn Sierah Sims, nephews Douglas Anthony Darby and Steven Christopher Darby.

Deirdre also leaves behind a host of loving family and friends to cherish and honor her memory.

For the Celebration of Life Service please dress casually and colorfully.

No Floral arrangements or balloons can be brought to the facility. However you are more than welcome to send arrangements to the family home.