Portia Harris

Obituary For Portia Harris

Portia Evelyn Whitted Maxey Harris transitioned to her heavenly home on June 13, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. She was the second child born to Norfley and Audrey (Dixon) Whitted on May 1st, 1930 in Durham, North Carolina. Portia grew up in Durham and attended the city schools. She graduated from Hillside High School in 1947 and attended North Carolina College at Durham (North Carolina Central University) and the University of California Los Angeles for a brief time. In 1951 she married Leroy “Mack” Maxey, of Arkansas but was widowed shortly after. The couple had one daughter, Evelyn. Following Mack’s death, Portia moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked for the military at Andrew’s Air Force base and Naval Research Laboratories until her retirement in 1973. In 1973 she returned to Durham and married Sonny Harris, Senior the following year. They were married until his death in 1993. Portia was a member of Mount Zion Baptist church during her youth and later attended Lipscomb Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Hillsborough before moving her membership to White Rock Baptist Church in Durham in 1997. After joining White Rock she was active in a number of ministries including the Girl Scouts, Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, the Prayer Ministry, the Missionary Circle, Sunday School and the Hospitality Ministry and she served as a Trustee and Deaconess. In addition to her church work, she was a member and officer for a number of organizations over the years including the Daughters of Dorcas, the National Council of Negro Women, The Whitted Family Association of North Carolina and the ’47 Club of Hillside High School. She was honored for her service by numerous organizations over the years and was known for her willingness to serve. She leaves to cherish her memory a host of family and friends too numerous to name. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Funeral services Saturday, June 18, 2016 at White Rock Baptist Church, 3400 Fayetteville St, at 1:00 pm with visitation at 12 noon.