Connie Harris

Connie Rachel Williams Harris, 86, the beloved, quick-witted, five-foot tall, feisty, and fiercely independent daughter, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandma, great-grandma, great-great-grandma, sister, aunt, and friend, passed away in her sleep on Wednesday, September 13, 2017, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s which slowly took her from the family she loved.

Connie was born on July 1, 1931, in Malad, Idaho, the third of twelve children born to Berton Elliott Williams and Rachel Mae Peabody.  Her siblings were Ila Mae, Dee Jay, [her], Berton Elliott, Jr, Colleen, Jerold Dean, David Delmont, Grant, Rosalie, Linda, Diana and Patricia Ann.  She married her life-long friend, lover, and sparring partner, James Vernon Harris, on September 9, 1949, in Pocatello, Idaho. After 59 years of marriage and Jim’s passing, they were sealed for eternity in the Timpanogos LDS Temple on August 28, 2010. She was preceded in death by her daughter Connie Lynn, husband, father, mother and all siblings except Colleen, Linda and Patricia.

Connie was a loving, hard-working mother of five children – Michael James, Karen, Connie Lynn, Cheryl Ann and Geri Lyn with 26 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild on whom she imprinted her love, morality, discipline, independence and work ethic.

She was a meticulous homemaker but also worked outside of the home when necessary.  As a receptionist at Carrol’s beauty shop, she greeted customers and managed the appointment schedule for the beauticians.   As a cosmetologist at Falks – a large, upscale Boise department store – she very successfully managed the cosmetics department receiving recognition as the most successful cosmetics manager they’d ever had.  In her later years, her love of babies led her to run a successful day care for young children out of her home.

Her husband’s love of horses led him to become a thoroughbred breeder and trainer. Overcoming her fear of horses (and mice), she decided to join him in his endeavor.  She became so capable that one season she alone took a horse to race out-of-state and fondly looked back on that achievement and her fond memories of the horse, Dusty Plum, for the remainder of her life.

This larger-than-life woman will be terribly missed by friends and family who loved her deeply.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2017, at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary at 495 South State Street, Orem, Utah, at 10 a.m.  A viewing for friends and family will be held Friday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. and one hour prior to the funeral services.  Burial will be in the Malad Cemetery at 4 p.m. that afternoon.  We truly appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received.

Condolences may be expressed to the family on this page.