Jeanette R. Harries

Jeanette R. Harries, former University of Wisconsin-Madison Assistant Professor of Linguistics, passed away quietly in her sleep on April 1 following a brave struggle with dementia. She was 85. Born Mary Jeanette Rideout in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 7, 1923, Jeanette grew up on the small family dairy farm in Meadowvale, Minnesota near Elk River. After graduating high school, she moved to California and worked to help pay the way for her five younger brothers and sisters to join her after each had graduated. She was a legal secretary in the law office of Judge Griffin and attorney Chester S. ""Chet"" Johnson in Los Angeles, worked for Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica during WWII, for Bank of America as an escrow officer after the war, and as an editorial assistant at the RAND Corporation. During this time she married Chet. Their favorite activities were backpacking into the wilderness areas in Northern California, Arizona and Colorado, camping, fishing and exploring Indian ruins. In her mid thirties, Jeanette decided to continue her education. Jeanette Johnson received her B.A. in English in 1961 from the University of California at Los Angeles with highest honors, her M.A. in 1962 and Ph.D. in Linguistics in 1966, also at UCLA, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She did her dissertation research on Tamazight and Berber language and culture in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and it was there in 1964 that she learned of the fatal illness of her beloved first husband. She moved to Madison when appointed to the Department of Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin,where she was in charge of the Phonetics Laboratory and taught, among other courses, phonetics and phonemics, morphology, and Structure of Tamazight/Berber until 1973. In 1969 she met and married Prof. Lyndon P. ""Lyn"" Harries of the Department of African Languages and Literature. Lyn, who was Welsh born, had also served as a missionary in Africa. Jeanette was a member of the African Studies Association (ASA), American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the International Society of Phonetic Sciences, the Linguistics Society of America (LSA) and the Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA). Following Lyn's retirement they moved to Chilton, Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter, her dear Lyndon died while serving as an interim Episcopal priest in Appleton. Jeanette moved back to Madison and continued her numerous volunteer involvements. In the early 80s she spent a year volunteering atthe Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project (KEEP) inJapan, and served on KEEP's board through 1988. She also made frequent trips to England as part of a cultural exchange program, and has co-authored papers on traditional Berber textile weaving and poetry. Ever the gracious and welcominghostess, Jeanette was for several years a very active member of the Madison Friends of International Students (MFIS), through which she hosted many a student and formed lifelong friendships.The daughter of one such student was named after her, and she became a godmother to several others.Liberian friends Florence Chenoweth, her son DeVon Solomon,and Carolyn Amegashie were devoted to Jeanettethrough her final illness.She also assisted with the MFISwinter coat loan program and holiday hospitality, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Jeanette was a devoted Episcopalian, initially at University, and latterly at Grace Episcopal Church, where she served as president of Episcopal Church Women and assisted mightily with estate sales, the food pantry, bringing communion to shut-ins,and preparation of breakfasts for the homeless. She also served on the Wisconsin Conference of Churches. While at St. Francis House in the 1980s, Jeanette was an informal mentor, in matters both temporal and spiritual, especially to women graduate students. She shared freely what she knew of academic politics and pitfalls, Episcopal Church workings and customs, and prayerful practices. Her friends and colleagues have said that she exemplified the best of that parish, bringing together the generations on campus. They remember her insights, compassion and wit and recall Jeanette faithfully tending flowering plants in the parish's corner garden on University Avenue and greeting the students (she knew many) as they passed on their way to class and to and from the House. She leaves an intellectual and spirit-filled legacy. She was an avid gardener and a pioneer in growing organic crops, composting, and serving the most nutritious food. She also loved music, and added the sweetest harmonies when singing carols with her sisters and their children at many a family Christmas Day get-together. Jeanette dedicated her life to the service of others, even as she participated in numerous medical studies and clinical trials ""for the benefit of womankind,"" as she used to say. Her family would like to acknowledge the compassionate care she received at Capitol Lakes (formerly Meriter) Retirement Community of Madison. Her caregivers have said that Jeannette remained a gracious and giving woman, mindful and attentive to the needs of others and the world she lived in, often reaching out to other residents, offering a hand to hold or an ear to listen. Jeanette treasured her family, with whom she remained very close through countless gatherings over the years. In addition to her two husbands, Jeanette was predeceased by her sisters Eleanor Rideout and Elizabeth Comstock, her brothers Herbert Rideout and Reginald Rideout, and niece Jillian Gregory. She is survived by her sisters Dorothy ""Dolly"" Gormley and Margaret ""Peggy"" Asman, five nieces, five nephews, seven cousins, and the dear friends at her beloved Grace Episcopal Church and the UW community. She will be missed by many. Jeanette is at peace with her Lord at last. A celebration of Jeanette's life will be held at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 16 at Grace Episcopal Church, 116 W. Washington Ave. in Madison, with a reception to follow. Her ashes will be buried in the family plot at Meadowvale Cemetery in Minnesota on Saturday. Donations may be made in her memory to the Alzheimer's Association (http://www.alz.org/), which provides funding for research, care and support, and awareness and advocacy.