Patricia Louise Harriss died peacefully in her sleep in the early morning of Nov. 18, 2015, after a valiant fight against cancer and COPD. She was 70 years old.
Born March 9, 1945, in New York City, Pat was the daughter of Prof. C. Lowell Harriss and Agnes Harriss, who predeceased her. She is survived by her aunt Marion Engelhart, her two brothers (and their wives) Gordon and Elizabeth, Brian and Lucinda, and her sister Martha; also by her nephews (and their wives), Christopher and Sarah, Matthew and Melissa, Brett and Monica, Peter; by her niece, Lindsey; and by her six grand nephews and nieces.
Pat’s family moved to Bronxville, N.Y., in 1951, where she grew up. She and her family lived overseas twice: one year in The Hague, Holland, and one year spent at a Swiss school while her parents lived in Strasburg, France. Both years included extensive family travel throughout Europe.
After graduating from the Bronxville High School, Pat graduated with a concentration in psychology from Radcliffe College, Harvard University in 1967. She received an MBA from Columbia University and joined the treasury department of AT&T, working at their NYC headquarters.
During a three-year assignment for AT&T in Omaha, she was able to indulge her love of riding and owned two horses. After leaving AT&T, Pat eventually returned to her family’s Bronxville home and provided support for her parents. During this time she enjoyed travel with her family: she accompanied her father on some of his professionally inspired foreign trips, including one trip around the world; and they were joined by her sister and sisters in law on summer road trips in Europe.
She was active in the Bronxville League of Women Voters and Plateau Cirque, a painting group. Her mother died in 1992; after her father died in 2009, Pat moved into the garage cottage at Brian and Lucinda’s Greenwich home. She became active in At Home In Greenwich, a service and activity organization for seniors.
Her AHIG friends remember well her cooking and generosity of spirit. She was an accomplished solver of crossword puzzles, especially The New York Times Sunday crossword. She enjoyed gardening, and was a great reader of mysteries, science fiction and historical fiction. Throughout her life, she greatly appreciated that her brothers’ families—and later, their children’s families—lived within easy distances, and loved participating regularly in their family activities and life milestones.
A memorial gathering will be held in her honor on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. at the Bronxville Field Club, 40 Locust Lane, Bronxville, N.Y., 10708. (See www.bronxvillefieldclub.com for directions.)
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to: At Home In Greenwich, 139 East Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT, 06830, or the League of Women Voters, Development Office, 1730 M Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036–4508.
