Mary Jane Harris

On Friday, January 20, Mary Jane Harris died peacefully at age 92 from Alzheimer’s Disease in Dedham, MA. She was the widow of Morton B Harris with whom she had a long and deeply loving marriage. A longtime New Yorker, Mrs. Harris grew up in State College, PA, where she attended Penn State University. She moved to Massachusetts seven years ago to be close to family. In earlier years, having collected important European art with her husband, Mrs. Harris contributed their collection to the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State, for which the Museum built the Harris Galleries. Mrs. Harris was also a contributor to the Central Park Conservancy and to other organizations in the arts and health care. Mrs. Harris is dearly remembered by her loving and admiring nieces and nephews and by her devoted friends for her fine mind, vibrancy, generosity of spirit and her grace. With deep intelligence and curiosity, she relished music and art, mastering Italian and studying art history in mid-life. Her interests, knowledge and passion for art and music led her to travel and to establish lasting relationships with art collectors, museum curators, art historians and others who have supported the cultural scene in New York, across the US and in Europe. Memorial donations may be made either to The Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State, University Park, PA 16802 or to The Central Park Conservancy, 14 E. 60th St., New York, NY 10022. –