Doris Elaine Davis was born in Youngstown, Ohio, November 10, 1930, the fourth child of Eugene and Otelia Simmons Davis. Her parents were founding members of Price Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, where she accepted Jesus as her Savior as a teen. She was involved in many church activities and in particular, the choir, where she was able to use her beautiful soprano voice.

She graduated from Rayen High School in 1949 and, with the sponsorship of a woman who recognized her academic potential, furthered her education at Youngstown State University, receiving her Bachelors Degree in Education in 1953. She had a gift and calling in the area of elementary education.

Doris taught in her hometown until she married Rev. William R. Harris in 1955 and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was a pastor. This union was blessed with two girls, Elaine Jeanne and Pauline Marie. The family moved to Norristown, PA in early 1964, when her husband was called to a pastorate there. When her children started school, she began teaching in the Norristown schools. In her years there, she continued her own education at Villanova University, where she received her Master of Arts degree in education and continued with doctoral level courses. Her teaching career led to an assistant principalship, and then the position from which she would retire, principal of an elementary school. She helped many students to realize their educational goals far beyond elementary school and has been remembered by them and their families for her dedication to her students’ academic lives and overall wellbeing.

She was a member of the World Day of Prayer through the professional women’s group she was a part of. Through this, she was able to travel to India with her friend, Dr. Esther Shoemaker, a long-time medical missionary to the people there. She observed their educational system, visited missionaries, and encouraged students in her inimitable way.

Similarly, she was able to go to Cuba with a non-governmental agency on an educational exchange mission and was able to observe education there and bring back ideas that would benefit her students and other educators who would hear of her experiences. In a highlight of that trip, Doris met Fidel Castro, to whom she gave a Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap, which he appeared to enjoy wearing.

She traveled much in her lifetime, going to Africa several times, as well as China, France, Viet Nam, Russia, and also cruising the Caribbean.

Doris was known for her baking and delighted her family (and others) with her desserts, which she often mailed all over the country and the world for birthdays. The people at her local post office came to know her and were very helpful in this regard. To their great delight, she sometimes even rewarded them with a cake or pie, no doubt making their day.

Doris moved to Washington, DC to be near her daughters. She found community at Nineteenth Street Baptist Church and became an active member there, in various ministries, including the comfort choir and the food pantry ministry, until her health challenges began to limit her. She remained faithful to her church and appreciated the love and support, particularly from Rev. Crosson.

Doris, also known as Dot because of her energy, “dotting around,” was a force to be reckoned with and a woman who loved her family. She is predeceased by her parents, her husband, her sisters, Ethel and Pauline, her brother, Robert, and her daughter, Elaine. She leaves to mourn her passing and celebrate her extraordinary life, her daughter, Pauline; her niece, Celeste; her nephews, Horace (Ruth), Broderick (Cassandra), and Jonathan; her grandnieces, Delia (Alonzo), Victoria (Charles), and Zoe; her grandnephew, Joshua; and a host of relatives, friends, and students, whose lives she impacted.