Obituary of Janet Harris

Janet S. Harris, most recently of Wallingford, CT, died June 12, 2016 at Masonicare Health Center in that town. Born Janet Elizabeth Schoepflin on July 27, 1924, in Hartford, CT, she had previously lived in Bethesda, MD and Madison, VA. Janet graduated from the former Hartford College for Women in 1945 and Mount Holyoke College in 1947, earning her law degree from Yale Law School in 1950. She married Dr. Eugene K. Harris in 1950 and moved to Berkeley, CA for two years before relocating to Cincinnati, OH, where she and Gene lived for 11 years. They moved to Bethesda in 1963, retiring to Madison in 1983. Janet worked for Common Cause in Washington, DC, a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to promoting accountable government. She represented the political and social issues of the State of Ohio. In addition to raising three daughters, she was active in the Mount Holyoke Alumnae Association and the Association of University Women, Girl Scouts of America and Cedar Lane Unitarian Church in Bethesda. She and Gene traveled extensively around the world. A historian and scholar of English Constitutional law, Janet was an active member of the Madison County Historical Society in Virginia and instrumental in saving and restoring two important buildings in Madison – the Kemper Mansion, home of Civil War General James Kemper, and the Arcade Building, which became home to the historical society. She and Gene were also very active in Madison Presbyterian Church and charitable organizations in the area. Janet’s husband Gene died in 1997. She is survived by her three daughters, Barbara Harris McWhirter (and husband Alan) of Cheshire, CT; Deborah Harris Teall (and partner Hank Frank Jr.) of Metuchen, NJ; and Nancy Harris Anderson (and husband Michael) of Silver Spring, MD; her grandsons, Jason McWhirter of Springfield, VA, and Justin McWhirter of Hartford, CT; and her granddaughter, Carolyn Teall of Metuchen, NJ. Arrangements - A private family service and interment will take place at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, CT. Contributions in Janet’s memory may be made to Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075 or to the Madison (VA) Historical Society, 124 N Main St, Madison, VA 22727. The Alderson-Ford Funeral home of Cheshire is assisting with arrangements.