Obituary of Willie Bell Harris

Harris, Willie Bell (nee Wiggins), age 86, formerly of Sixth Road, Newtonville, New Jersey, departed this life on April 8, 2011 at Meadowview Nursing and Respiratory Care in Williamstown, New Jersey. She was born in Andersonville, Georgia to the late Willie Wiggins and Anna (Batchelor) Wiggins. After marriage, she left Georgia and made her home in Newtonville, New Jersey where she was employed as a factory worker and did private domestic work until she retired. She began her spiritual legacy as a devoted member of the First Union Baptist Church where she served on the Deaconess and Missionary Boards and ministered for over 10 years to the youth at the Boys Delinquent Home in Egg harbor, New Jersey. In her effort to further the gospel of Jesus Christ at V.O.D. and missions to Haiti with her time and gift giving. Her passion and drive was found in meditating in the word of God and rising early in the morning between the 3 and 5 o'clock hour praying for family, community and the body of Christ under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. As a loving and devoted mother and grandmother, she always expressed the importance of knowing family and continuing to embrace them with love. She often shared stories about family heritage which included a mixture of cultures, family values and a strong emphasis on education. What many people didn't know about her was that she always dreamed of being a teacher. In order to fulfill that part in her life, she spent time teaching her grandchildren about nature, reading, drawing and writing, coupled with toasted chicken sandwiches and lemonade for lunch. As her grandchildren grew, she encouraged them to go after their dreams and in her own words, "Baby you can do it." In her leisure, she spent time observing nature, drawing, sewing and watching her comedy shows. Her last days where spent around the love of her daughters, Jean and Penny and her grandchildren, Marquies, Sadeira and Danyale and her great granddaughter, "Baby Savannah", who brought her much pleasure and love. A legacy that will never cease but will continue through her heirs. The journey began, the journey continues... She was preceded in death by her husband, Willie B. Harris; two sons, Woodrow and Cecil Harris and all of her siblings. She leaves to cherish her memory: two daughters, Gwendolyn Jean Hawkins of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey and Penn Dora Harris of Newtonville, New Jersey; twelve grandchildren; twelve great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, loving cousins and friends.