In Memoriam: Claudia Woolston Harris, 1938-2024

Claudia Woolston Harris, professor and author, whose teaching inspired and changed lives of students, died on Wednesday, January 31, in Orem, Utah. She was 85. Her death was the result of complications following a fall at home. Claudia, who was originally from American Fork, Utah, was a devoted wife and mother of three. She married Chet Harris, her beloved husband, at the age of 18, then raised her family with him as they finished graduate school together and pursued their careers. This included living and working in Atlanta, Georgia, St. Paul, Minnesota, Western Samoa, and Downey, Idaho. Claudia lost her husband to cancer after 30 years of marriage, and then made a life for herself for the next 37 years as a widow, embarked on a career as a literature professor, and eventually moved home to Utah to become a professor at BYU where she taught for 20 years.

Dr. Claudia Harris produced many notable scholarly works during her years as a professor of literature. She published scholarship about theater and society in Ireland, and reviewed a range of drama productions for newspapers in Utah, including the Salt Lake Tribune, as well as international theater productions for national and international journals, and as US delegate to the International Theater Critics Association. Dr. Harris traveled frequently to Ireland for her scholarship and to visit many friends there, staying at her flat in Dublin. She attended conferences throughout the world to present her scholarship and to learn with colleagues. She was well known among her colleagues for her good humor and her generosity to young scholars and her support of their work, and befriended people across many divides.

Dr. Claudia Harris was well-loved as a teacher, someone whose interests and curiosity for new knowledge inspired her students' explorations. She will also be missed as a teacher in her church where she focused on sharing her testimony of Christ, developing hope, and sensitivity to joy.

She will be missed as a beloved sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. As a mother and grandmother, she was an enthusiastic partner in every activity and conversation. She found ways to befriend her children and grandchildren in exemplary ways that will affect and enrich their own relationships and parenting.

She is survived by her sister Mique, and by Claudia's three children Leslie Zuber, Mitchell Harris, and Derek Harris, and by her grandchildren, Alec, Colin, Graham, Erin, Connor, Fiona, Nora, Dominic, Eleanor, Alan, Alistair, and by her great-grandchildren, Abbey, Hannah, Emily, Tally, Reina, Andrew, Lily, Noah, and Rosie.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 10:00 am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel at 114 South 400 West Orem, Utah. A viewing will be held on Friday, February 9, 2024 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Walker Sanderson Funeral Home located at 646 East 800 North Orem, Utah. Interment will be at Eastlawn Memorial Hills following the funeral.