Dorothy Harris

Graveside services for Mrs. Dorothy Harris, 94, of Linden, Texas, will be 10:00 a.m. Thursday, August 21, 2025, at Caves Springs Cemetery, with Bro. Ricky Vestal officiating, under the direction of Reeder-Davis Funeral Home in Linden.

Dorothy Lee Harp was born on December 21, 1930 to Gilbert and Lorena Harp.  On August 18, 2025, at the age of 94, she passed from this life into the next, peacefully in her sleep.

As a child growing up in a sawmill family in Jefferson, Texas, she experienced the Great Depression. Dorothy was the 3rd of 7 siblings: two sisters, Sue Ellen & Althea & four brothers, Ray, Terry, Bobby, & Albert.  Dorothy attended Linden-Kildare High school. She told stories of her freshman year of how she & her classmates collaborated to choose the name of the first published yearbook, Tiger Tracks as well as the mascot & school colors, blue & white. Many of those classmates became close lifelong friends.

Dorothy met her late husband, “Smokey” Harris when she was 16. They married in February of 1948 & continued their life together for over 50 years. They raised three children Philip, Kathy, & David James Harris & one grandchild, Jeremy Harris in later years.  Dorothy earned her LVN license & worked for Linden & Ellington Memorial hospitals before eventually hiring on with the state at the Texas Department of Health in Linden where she worked for more than 8 years receiving recognition from Governor Ann Richards for her outstanding service.

Dorothy often frequented the little league baseball field, was a Den Mother to the Boy Scouts, & was an active volunteer for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. She selflessly gave her time to participate in numerous fund raising events throughout the years. Dorothy also volunteered her time as the Quilt Show Coordinator for the Linden Wildflower Trails for over ten years where she also participated as a contestant winning numerous awards for her handmade quilts. She was very active in the community where she was known & loved by all.

Dorothy loved to cook & was very good at it. She was known for the amazing desserts she often baked. She loved to host family events & spend time with those she loved. She enjoyed sewing & made clothing & other crafts that she sold in Canton, Texas for years. She was passionate about flowers & plants & definitely had a green thumb. She& Smokey loved to fish at Pruitt Lake. In the Fall, you could always find her in a deer stand at the Tree Farm. After retirement, her & her dear friend Sandy Wells opened a small business together called “Three Miles Out” where they sold beautiful hand crafted Christmas decor. Dorothy was very talented & creative.  Dorothy Lee, whom many of you knew as Mammaw, dearly loved her grandchildren who affectionately bestowed her with that name. She spent a lot of time with all of us grandchildren. She helped raise ALL of us. She made us feel loved & important with thoughtful gestures of love like hand sewing each of us a quilt of our own & giving us a full set of gold trimmed China on our 12th birthdays to put away until we were grown & needed it. Mammaw loved to read & could not be beaten at a game of Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit. “I love flowers, books, animals, & kids in that order, ” she would say.

Dorothy was preceded in death by both of her parents & all of her brothers & sisters as well as her beloved husband, Ward C. “Smokey” Harris, her daughter Kathy Parker, granddaughter, Kristi Hulme Hargis, & her eldest son Philip Ward Harris. Dorothy is survived by her son David James & his wife Peggy Harris, their son, Jeremy Harris, two granddaughters Keri Hulme Hitchcock & LeAnn Harris, five great granddaughters, Kandle, Kassidy, Hailey (who she thought of as her own), Hannah, & Harmonie, 2 great grandchildren as well as numerous nieces & nephews that loved her dearly.

The family wishes to send a special thank you to Mrs. Pat and Cyndie Lou for the loving care they provided Mrs. Harris in her final days on earth.

Mammaw was always there for you whenever you needed her. Mammaw’s house was always a home away from home. She was THE BOSS & everyone knew it. And she was the best mother & grandmother anyone could hope to have. Dorothy, Mammaw, was beautiful. She was a treasure, an invaluable person in all of our lives & she will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation can be made to the Caves Springs Cemetery Fund. P.O. Box 916 Linden, Texas 75563

Where she will be laid to rest with her beloved husband & children & generations of Harris’.

I love you Mammaw!

Your Granddaughter,

LeAnn Harris