Obituaries

MARY HARRIS

March 4, 2012

MARY JOSEPHINE HARRIS July 21, 1950 – March 4, 2012 In Loving Memory Mary Josephine Harris (Jody) passed away peacefully after a valiant battle with cancer at the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg at 61 years of age with her husband by her side. Left to forever cherish Jody’s memory is her loving husband Michael; two loving sons Trevor and Shane; loving brother Patrick Donnelly of Mayo, YT; loving sisters Eileen Ullathorne (David) of Victoria, BC, Marg Duby (Ed) of Ottawa, ON, Karen Lejeune (Ivan) of Red Deer, AB, and Lisette Kaip (Bill) of Yellowknife, NT. Jody was born to Patrick Donnelly and Mary Donnelly (Newton) in St John’s, NL on July 21, 1951. The family moved to Montreal when Jody was 11. Following that, the family moved once more, to Hay River, NT when Jody was 16. Jody remained in Montreal to finish high school and then joined her family. While in Hay River she married Grant McKenzie and had two sons, Trevor and Shane. After Jody separated from Grant, she moved to Winnipeg with Michael Harris, where they were married and remained by each other’s side until her death. While in Winnipeg, she worked for the federal government, followed by a career with the City of Winnipeg. After Jody’s retirement, she took on a research consultant role. During her working career, Jody constantly took courses to improve herself and satisfy her love of learning, and this culminated in Jody achieving a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Jody was characterized by her voracious appetite for learning, her positivity in all situations and, most prevalently, her determination and willingness to always place others ahead of herself. Jody never complained, she did what needed to be done, including caring for her mother late in life leading up to her passing in 2011. Jody had discovered a love of travel late in her life, and had the opportunity to go on several wonderful vacations with Michael. On Tuesday, March 6, 2012, Jody’s Funeral Service was held at 1:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Memories in Wojcik’s Funeral Chapel, 1020 Main Street. Jody will be sadly missed by all those whose lives she touched.   As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on March 10, 2012