Susanne Spencer Harris

Sue Spencer Harris, as she was usually called, died Tuesday morning, Feb. 21, 2012, as a result of a fall on a stairway, complicated by infections and a stroke. She was born in Ely, Nevada, the daughter of Richard Leo Spencer and Fern Olson Spencer. She was named Betty Susanne, but she hated the Betty, and went by Sue until recent years, when she preferred Susanne.



When she was six, the family moved to Gunnison and later to Provo during Sue's high school and college. She attended BYU for two years before transferring to the University of Utah School of Nursing.



Even as a small girl, she had always dreamed of being a nurse. She received a Bachelor's degree in nursing at the University of Utah in 1953, and a Master of Science in Nursing at BYU in 1983. She was the first graduate of that new program, and was invited to be an Assistant Professor of Nursing at BYU, the same year.



She was entirely self-supporting throughout her entire undergraduate education, earning the money for her tuition and books working as a theater usher during the school year, and in the summers working as a cabin maid and waitress at Bryce Canyon Resort.



While teaching nursing at BYU, she established out-patient geriatric clinics in Springville, Provo, and Orem. She taught both in the conventional classroom and in the various clinics and offices of cooperating physicians.



She married John Sterling Harris on March 1, 1954 in the Salt Lake Temple, and they became the parents of three children.



She was active in the LDS church, and served in the Relief Society presidency, was Primary President, and served several years as Stake Girls Camp Director. She worked conscientiously and skillfully with ceramics and doll making. She enjoyed working on her Victorian-era house.



She is survived by her husband John Sterling Harris, their children Steven Bradley Harris, Scott Jefferson Harris, and Polly Anne Harris, by six grand-children, and one great grandchild.



A reception and memorial service will be held at 11 A.M. at the Springville Stake Center, 245 S 600 E, Springville, UT, Thursday, March 1, 2012, which would have been her 58th wedding anniversary.



Condolences may be sent at www.wheelermortuary.com.