Palestine High School Alumni Association

12 / 02 / 1954  –  08 / 13 / 2003

Services for Mary Jill Herod Harris, 48, of Palestine will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church in Palestine with the Revs. Jay Abernathy and Lynn Wilhite officiating. Burial will follow at Land of Memory Cemetery under the direction of Herrington/Land of Memory Funeral Home.

Mrs. Harris died Wednesday at Palestine Regional Medical Center. She was born December 2, 1954, in Palestine to Jack Fulton Herod Sr. and Louise Quick Herod. She had lived in Palestine most of her life.

Mrs. Harris graduated from Palestine High School in 1973. She graduated from Baylor University and received a Masters of Education from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Mrs. Harris was currently assistant principal at Palestine High School and a member of Delta Kappa Gamma teacher’s sorority. She was a member of First Baptist Church and taught the Adult 3 Coed Sunday School Class.

Mrs. Harris was preceded in death by her parents.

She is survived by her husband, Chuck Harris; two sons, Kyle and J.D. Harris, all of Palestine; and brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Linda Herod of Carthage.

Pallbearers will be coaches at Palestine High School.

Honorary pallbearers will be the Adult 3 Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church.

Visitation will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at Herrington/Land of Memory Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to the Jill Herod Harris Scholarship Fund at the East Texas National Bank, P.O. Drawer 770, Palestine, Texas 75802-0770.

PISD mourns death of longtime educator.

Educator. Friend. Woman of faith.
Those are the words used to describe Palestine High School Assistant Principal Jill Harris, who passed away Wednesday due to complications from a recent surgery.

Harris served at Palestine Independent School District for 19 years – the last two as assistant principal at the high school.

“Everyone here is in shock,” said Craig Harris, Parent Involvement Coordinator at PISD. “It is terribly sad for the whole PISD family.”

Suzanne Eiben, PISD’s director of personnel services, expressed similar sentiments, adding that Jill Harris will be greatly missed at PISD. “We have all been blessed to know her,” Eiben said. “She was an exceptionally lovely lady and will be missed by everyone who knew her.”

PISD Superintendent Jerry Mayo recalled counseling Jill Harris as a senior at PHS. “She was an educator – totally,” Mayo said. “She loved the kids and they loved her. “She touched so many lives,” he added. “There is no way to put a finger on the impact she has had in the district.”

One of those lives touched was PHS Principal Richard Scoggins, who met Jill Harris in 1982 when he was one of her students. He later worked with her at Westwood High School. “(Jill Harris) was an administrator that did not just want to make a decision on how to punish students,” he said. “She wanted to make a difference in their lives. “She considered the kids a part of her life,” he added.

According to Scoggins, PHS students have set up a memorial on a table in the front hallway of the school. “There are three flower arrangements and three sets of cards there,” he said. “About 50 to 60 kids came up yesterday and wrote personal messages to her two boys. “It was a pleasant surprise for me,” he said. “And it will mean a tremendous amount (to her family members) later.”

More than just an educator, Jill Harris also was a friend. “She was just a wonderful person,” said friend Sharon Duerer. “She was a blessing to know. “God blessed me by putting her in my life,” she added. “She was a gift to me from God. Everything about her was wonderful.”

Jill Harris was a 40-year member of First Baptist Church of Palestine, where she taught the Adult III Sunday School Class. Her most recent lesson, according to the Rev. Jay Abernathy, was about love. “(Jill Harris) lived a life full of faith, family and friends,” Abernathy said this morning. “She was a woman of incredible grace and exemplified that in all her relationships. “She is a lady that has touched a lot of lives,” he continued. “She leaves a rather large gap in the community and we are going to miss her. “Our prayers are with her family,” he continued.

Source: Palestine Herald-Press 08-14-2003