Genevieve Marie (Mimi) Harris, 82, of State College, died Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010, at Mount Nittany Medical Center. She was born on June 19, 1927, at Fort Ruger, Oahu, in the Territory of Hawaii, to Lt. Paul A. Harris and Yvonne Simond Harris. Her father was a Regular Army officer, who retired as a Colonel. He was from Indiana, a graduate of Purdue University. Her mother was from Chamonix, Haute Savoie, a resort town in the French Alps at the foot of the Mont Blanc, where her father owned a family hotel. With her parents, Mimi traveled often; lived in ten states, from Maine to Florida to California, as well as Puerto Rico, Germany and France. She attended thirteen schools; graduated from San JosŽ State College in 1949, with a B.A. in Occupational Therapy. As an O.T.R., she worked for the Easter Seal Society at Camp Daddy Allen, in the Centre and Clinton County clinics, and at Fuhrman Clinic School in Overbrook, Pa. Then, she worked for several years at the Handicapped Children's Association where she was head of the O.T. Department in their outpatient treatment center in Johnson City, New York. She returned to State College in 1978 to assist and care for her mother after her father died. In college, she discovered the joys of International Folk Dancing and was grateful to be able to dance all her life. In Binghamton, N.Y., she was part of the Roberson Folk Dancers Demonstration Team, and became Chairman of the Group one year. Upon her return to State College, she joined Interlandia, and the Nittany Scottish County Dancers, for whom she was teacher/leader for eight years. She also enjoyed reading, traveling, skiing (when young), concerts and plays at the Boal Barn. Over the years she was a volunteer driver for Meals-On-Wheels, the Voluntary Action Center, and the Park Forest Nursery. She was a practicing Latin-Rite Catholic, a parishioner of Our Lady of Victory Church. Her faith was her most cherished possession. In 2001, she was fortunate to be able to move into Foxdale Village. She is survived by some distant cousins in the States, and several close cousins in France. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Victory Church at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, with Monsignor David Lockard officiating. A Memorial Service will be held at Foxdale Village at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010. Burial will be in Centre County Memorial Park. Memorial Donations may be made to the Community Fund at Foxdale Village, 500 E. Marylyn Ave., State College, PA 16801, to Our Lady of Victory Church, 820 Westerly Parkway, State College, PA 16801, or to an organization which helps the blind.
