For several years the Harrises lived above his family's business in the 800 block of N. Howard St., where his father had a cabinetmaking and antiques business. That property became the Harris Auction Galleries, where she often assisted her husband in weekly sales as a bids recorder.
She and her husband bought a run-down John Street home in 1951 for $6,750. The residence was photographed by Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine in 1964 and described as a "townhouse marked by imagination and flair" in an accompanying feature story about the restored home.
Mrs. Harris, who could not vote while a Washington resident, became active in neighborhood issues and politics and was an early member of the Mount Royal Democratic Club. Mayor Thomas J. D'Alesandro III named her to a seat on the city Planning Commission, where she cast votes against the plans for interstate highways through Baltimore.
Mrs. Harris was also active in neighborhood beautification through the old Baltimore Garden Block Committee. She was a founding member of Beautiful Baltimore. The group planted trees and spring bulbs and installed hanging floral baskets on street lamps along Charles Street. By 1976, the group was working with city officials with a Tree-for-All program, wherein numerous flowering trees, including Bradford pears, were planted along city streets.
In 1973, Mayor William Donald Schaefer named her a Special Baltimorean.
She also organized material for a book on Baltimore artist Edward Rosenfeld, with whom she and others had a Friday lunch gathering. The group met for decades.
A memorial service is being planned for May 25.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by a daughter, M. Elizabeth Harris of Longmont, Colo.; two brothers, Benjamin W. King of Chevy Chase and Martin L. King of Alexandria, Va.; and a sister, Selma K. Sauer of Alpharetta, Ga.
jacques.kelly@baltsun.com
