Jean Elsie Harris

Jean Elsie Harris passed away in Toronto on August 9, 2023 after a brief illness. Born in 1926 in Torquay, Devon, England, she lived a busy life focused on records, books, handiwork, travel, and family. She worked in the U.K. tax department before emigrating to Canada in 1956 with her husband, Victor, and daughter. An income tax consultant and a talented artist, Victor passed away in 1985 after 35 years of marriage. After staying at home with Jennifer, and then her son John, Jean was a bookkeeper for a large law firm in Toronto until her retirement. She then spent a decade as a volunteer for the auxiliary of Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga in their gift store followed by over 20 years with Friends of the Toronto Public Library spending many happy hours with colleagues and friends in the bookstore. In 2018 she received an Ontario Volunteer Service Award in recognition of this service. She devoted many years to research in libraries and archives on her family history, becoming a knowledgeable genealogist who shared her work through genealogical networks, travelled extensively with genealogy colleagues to conferences, and completed international continuing education courses in history. Her passion for this work assisted a grateful daughter in long hours of historical research on estate records in Ontario, leading to a joint publication in a scholarly journal that became a finding aid at the Ontario Archives. An expert knitter, sewer, and embroiderer, she often created her own designs and re-purposed material from clothes or other household material. Her generosity to family is unparalleled, especially with financial support. A fount of folk wisdom and endless sayings for every occasion, she will be deeply missed by her daughter Jennifer Connor and J.T.H. Connor, son John, and grandchildren Alyssa, Bridget, Natasha, and Ryan.