Imogene (Jean) Smith-Harris was born in Bude, Franklin County, Mississippi on September 6, 1939. Jean was the daughter of Leon P. and Bonnie R. Smith and the oldest of three siblings. The Smith household was a Christian home where Jean was nurtured and raised on the teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ. Jean’s treasured hometown was historic Natchez, Mississippi. She attended Natchez Public Schools and graduated from Natchez High School. She attended and graduated both Copiah-Lincoln (Co-Lin) Junior College in Wesson, Mississippi, and Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Religious Education. After graduation from college she became Minister of Children for Highland Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was while serving at Highland Baptist Church she met her future husband, William (Bill) A. Harris, Sr., of San Antonio, Texas (Surviving), where they both also served as Training Union Instructors. Jean and Bill were married on September 9, 1965. Jean was a firm believer in the Biblical structure of the family and throughout her life set her priorities accordingly. Expecting the arrival of their first child, Jean left her position at Highland Baptist Church and began to raise her own family. William (Bill) Alvin Harris, Jr., was born in July of 1966 and a second son, Joseph (Joe) Warren Harris, was born in November of 1967. After a number of Bill’s career relocations moving from Monroe, Louisiana, Big Spring and Grand Prairie, Texas, to Tampa, Florida, in 1971 the family established themselves in Atlanta, Georgia, where they would remain for the sake of a stable home life and family. It was soon after arriving in Atlanta in 1972 that Jean gave birth her last child, Elizabeth (Beth) Anne Harris-Jobe. Jean and her family quickly became active members at the First Baptist Church of Sandy Springs. Where as a member Jean served as a Sunday School Teacher, Director of Vacation Bible School and pianist; she also served on various church committees and taught needlework classes. While her children were school-aged, Jean worked in the home and was tireless in their support and upbringing. Jean was an excellent cook, especially of Southern recipes, a master seamstress, and a needlework artist. She made most of her own clothes, elaborate children’s costumes, and filled her home with needlepoint artwork. During this same period of time Jean was actively involved in PTA, room-mothering, shuttling kids to and from activities, and was instrumental in the formation of the Lassiter High School Band Program, where she was the first president of the Lassiter Band and Orchestra Parents Association. 1980 is when Jean became acquainted with several other families seeking to found a new Southern Baptist Church within the growing East Cobb County area of Marietta, Georgia. That church was to become Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. Jean served as the first church secretary, on many church committees, volunteered countless hours in the Children’s Ministry, and was so very thankful and proud for having the opportunity to be a part of God’s work in her local community. Bill and Jean both felt it was important for their children to graduate college unencumbered by student loan debt. During her children’s college years, Jean was employed by both the Noonday Baptist Association and Carpax & Associates to earn the funds needed to accomplish that goal. Jean was delighted when grandchildren came into her life, and she showered them with an extra-large helping of the enduring love that had become her trademark. As her family grew older and changed composition, Jean grew and changed along with it, never allowing an adverse circumstance to overcome or weaken her strong spirit. She was a determined individual and seldom failed to succeed at anything she ventured to accomplish. Jean enjoyed excellent health all her life and it was not until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s that her pace began to slow. Even with the onset of Alzheimer’s, Jean’s intelligence was such that she was able to compensate and cope with the disease to the degree that many of the people who knew her best never realized she had the disease. Jean relocated to Newnan, Georgia from her home to live with her daughter during the latter stages of the disease. It is worth noting that Jean’s personality never experienced many of the adverse side effects attributed to Alzheimer’s: her spirit and demeanor grew sweeter and sweeter with each passing day. Even after all recollection of family, friends, places, and events had faded, what remained was her ability to recall the Baptist hymns that sustained her all of her life. They were the last thing to go. She died peacefully and comfortably at the Savannah Court Assisted Living Facility in Newnan with family by her side on February 25, 2015 at 7:18 AM EST. Jean leaving this world a markedly better place for having lived in it and continuing her journey, as always, on to bigger and better things.