Hannah Harris

HANNAH RUTH HARRIS was born on Wednesday, December 4, 1940, to Bud and Ruth Carter, in Keiser, Arkansas. She moved to Columbus, Ohio, in her early teens and lived with her Aunt Hannah and cousin, Les Wright, whom she called Polly, until she married the father of her two children, Jimmie and John.

Shortly after John’s birth, Hannah met and married the love of her life, George Harris, and they built a happy, joyful life together, filled with backyard barbeques and holiday dinners that always included Hannah Ruth’s famous sweet potato pie. Someone once described it as so good that it tasted like both the pie and the ice cream.

Hannah delighted in feeding her family and friends, as well as the students she prepared meals for in the Food Service Department at The Ohio State University, where she worked until her retirement.

Hannah Ruth lived by Ecclesiastes 9:7: “ . . . eat your food with gladness, and drink…with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.” Everyone who entered her home was met with plates of delicious food served with a joyful heart and warm acceptance and approval.

Hannah Ruth never met a stranger and was interested in the lives of everyone she encountered. Her cousin liked to tell the story of how on a cross-country flight, Hannah Ruth returned from the restroom with stories from nearly every other passenger on the plane. She had a wicked sense of humor and was a beacon of joy, light, and love for everyone who knew her, including her church family at The Elevation Church, where she was a beloved member in good standing and served as a Deaconess and in the Missionary Society.

Blessed with eighty-one years of life, our beloved Hannah Ruth Harris passed away Sunday, November 20, 2022. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, George; sons, George Jr. and John White; and siblings, Naomi Allen, Scoby Carter, and Jessie Carter.

Her loving spirit lives on in her son, Jimmie (Laurie) White; brother, Vernell Carter; four grandsons, Daydren (Renetta) Cumberlander, Shaun (Yolonda) Ogden, James White, and Jeremy Beckhon; and seven great grandchildren. Hannah Ruth shared an especially deep and abiding love with several other family members, including Les Wright, Elisse Barnes, Cornelius (Rhonda) Wright Jr., Kim (Walter) Green, Samuel (Elizabeth) Allen III, Samuel Allen, and Brandy Allen. She will be missed by scores of additional family members and dear friends.

TO HONOR HANNAH RUTH, WE LIFT NEHEMIAH 8:10

“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared…Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”