Obituary of Lois Deborah Turner Harris

Born in Wadesboro, NC Lois was the daughter of the late James Floyd Turner and Laura Margaret Gray Turner. As the eldest of four children, she often watched after her siblings James Floyd Jr., Richard Edward and Rachel. As a small child, Lois became interested in the piano at church. She had heard music played during services, but when little Lois went to the piano for the first time, she was frustrated that she did not know how and became determined to learn it. At the age of six, Lois contracted empyema of the lung, an often-fatal infection at the time since antibiotics did not exist. To help motivate her to fight the illness, Lois's parents promised her a piano and lessons when she recovered. A high fever caused her hair to fall out, medical procedures cost her two ribs, and she lost a year of school, but Lois did recover and began piano lessons as promised. Walking the three miles from her home outside Wadesboro to Mrs. Mabel Caraway's house in town for lessons helped Lois rebuild her strength and aided recovery from the infection that haunted her childhood. Mrs. Caraway remained her teacher until Lois graduated from Wadesboro High School in 1950. Lois finished with a high class ranking and earned two scholarships for college, deciding to attend Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now UNC Greensboro) to study piano performance. When she learned that her fellow students regarded music professor Alleine Minor as the best piano instructor, Lois set her sights on Ms. Minor as her teacher. As would be expected, Ms. Minor's group was in high demand; Lois stood in line with many others trying to get assigned to Ms. Minor's group, an assignment that would last for the entire course of study. At first, Ms. Minor refused Lois as a student. Sorely disappointed but determined to achieve her goal, Lois stayed after it, returning time and again to audition before finally earning Ms. Minor's acceptance. To hear Lois tell it, Ms. Minor's reputation as the best teacher was accurate, but she was also tough -- the best compliment Lois recalled hearing was "well, that sounded better." Earning the bachelor of science degree required Lois to play a senior recital. When anxiety threatened to wreck her final college performance, Lois said she managed to overcome the nerves "with the help of Jesus" moving her hands along the keys. Upon graduation in 1954 from the Woman's College with a BS in Piano Performance, Lois began her teaching career in Weldon, NC by giving private lessons with a borrowed piano. An opportunity at Roanoke Rapids High School opened up a couple of years later, and in 1957 Lois began teaching piano in a room provided by the high school. It soon became evident that Lois would need a car, so she went over to the Chevrolet dealership and purchased one. When the salesman completed the transaction and delivered the keys -- fully expecting her to hop in the car and drive away -- she owned up: "I can't drive and don't have a license." The perplexed salesman had the car delivered to Lois's home, and it was parked out front. Lois's roommate saw the car and asked Lois whose car it was. When Lois responded that it was hers, the roommate exclaimed, "But you don't know how to drive!" to which Lois coolly replied, "Yet." As it so often happened, her determination and courage had Lois reaching beyond her grasp. Fortunately, Lois had a neighbor willing to teach her how to drive. Eventually, she passed (barely) her driver's license examination, receiving a kindly request from the examiner to "stay off the highway" until learning to drive a little better! While living in Roanoke Rapids, Lois would meet with a group of friends that included some young men who worked at the local J.P. Stevens' Delta Finishing Plant for textiles processing. She became good friends with one, Gettys Harris, and though not dating formally they saw each other often. That friendship soon turned into more, and they dated until Gettys moved to Gaffney SC for a new job at the Blacksburg, SC Magnolia Finishing Plant. They still would see each other occasionally when Lois returned to Wadesboro to visit; they each drove to the midpoint between Gaffney and Wadesboro and met in Rock Hill SC at Gettys's mother's home. They quickly understood the difficulties with long-distance relationships, and decided that instead of driving across states to see each other occasionally, they should just go ahead and get married. Lois and Gettys wed in Rock Hill, SC on September 28,1963 and the couple lived in Gaffney for two more years. Lois continued to teach piano privately and with Ms. Janet DuBois at Limestone College in Gaffney. In the summer of 1965 the family grew by one with the addition of son Gettys, Jr., also known as "Mac". Within a few months after Mac's arrival, Gettys left Magnolia and took a job with DuPont Co. in Charlotte, NC. Lois quickly established her piano studio, using classified advertising to attract students of all ages from the surrounding south Charlotte area. Lois's students participated in NC Federation of Music Clubs (NCFMC), NC Music Teachers Association (NCMTA) and National Guild of Piano Teachers ("The Guild") festivals, contests, recitals and other competitions, as well as Lois's own Christmas program and end-of-year recital. Lois also worked as a stay-at-home mother raising Mac full time. In 1969, the Harris family grew again with the springtime birth of daughter Laura Gray Harris. As a seamstress's daughter, Lois had learned to sew while growing up in Wadesboro. To stay ahead of the needs a growing family presents, Lois often made clothes and home furnishings for herself, Mac and Laura, and photos of Lois and the children show her skill with the needle and thread. Mac and Laura would accompany Lois to Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia to get sewing supplies, cloth, patterns, thread and all manner of other materials for making the clothes, pillows, blankets and other items Lois would create. Lois also carried the children along to Brodt Music Company in Charlotte to purchase piano pieces and instructional books. Those trips would often end with a stop at the Merita Bakery Outlet store next door to Brodt's for some "day-old" treats. Lois provided delicious meals and insisted on family suppers together, but never took much credit for being a great cook, always describing her no-measuring style as "dump and stir" cooking. She knew recipes by heart, finding them in cook books, on cans and boxes, taken from magazines, newspapers, friends or hand-me-down family recipes from her mother. Among the specialties she prepared: for breakfast, her famous pancakes or french toast; lunch would usually be "fend for yourself" sandwiches or leftovers from previous supper; for supper, a Crock-Pot full of hearty country style steak and gravy, or perhaps a beef stew, meat loaf, pot of spaghetti, or the infamous "hamburgers & grits" with french style green beans. For dessert, banana pudding and later the unappetizingly named "Dump Cake," which was a staple of grandchildren's visits. Lois maintained her teaching practice over her 50 years working in Charlotte and accepted students of all ages, with a wide range of musical talent and abilities; she always felt she could teach anyone who "wanted to" how to play the piano. Lois's positive approach sought to find the right mix of encouragement, instruction, practice and reinforcement for each student, and she learned as much from them as they did from her. Lois found great satisfaction in patiently exploring and discovering how to engage and motivate each individual to reach their maximum proficiency. Aside from teaching piano, Lois selflessly served for many years as an organist for several churches. Shortly after graduation from college, she played the organ at the First Methodist Church of Weldon, NC; in Roanoke Rapids she played for the First Methodist Church there. After moving to Charlotte, Lois served several years as the organist at Craig Avenue Associated Reformed Presbyterian (A.R.P.) Church. Finally, after the loss of the pastor and music director at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, Lois agreed to become the interim music director for about a year there while St. Andrew's searched for a permanent hire. From 1971 through 1987 Mac and Laura progressed through the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools System. Mac graduated from NC State University (BS Meteorology), the University of Oklahoma (MA Communication) and Texas A&M University (MS Meteorology). Laura graduated from UNC-Greensboro (BS Interior Design), then UNC-Charlotte (BS Nursing), and finally earned an MS in Nursing from East Carolina. Mac joined the Air Force as a Weather Officer in 1989 and the same year married Jacquelynn McAdam of Raleigh, NC. Mac and Jacque have three children Hayley (b. 1992), Gray (1996) and Helen (1999). Mac retired after 23 years and lives in Yorktown VA where he still works for the Air Force as a contract employee. In 1996, Laura married Chris Wells and began her nursing career at Gaston Memorial Hospital, working as a nurse on the Oncology unit for 18 years. After earning her master's degree, Laura accepted a position as Nurse Practitioner at Levine Cancer Institute Main in Charlotte. Laura and Chris have two children Chloe (b. 1998) and Sophia (2001). Since their home was close by, Lois "MiMi" and the retired Gettys "Poppy" provided child care to the girls while Laura and Chris worked. It was a great joy to MiMi and Poppy to be able to care for the girls, and Lois taught the girls piano, Chloe took lessons until graduating high school; Sophie was still taking lessons before Lois's recent hospitalization. Lois received the shock of her life when told she needed immediate aortic valve replacement surgery in 2009, due to calcification of the valve and a heart murmur. A combination of factors caused improper blood flow through the heart and indicated a high risk of heart attack. Cardiologist Dr. John Symanski laid out the course of treatment and Surgeon Dr. Marc Reames performed the valve replacement surgery at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. While the surgery itself proved successful, some complications followed due to heart fibrillation, requiring intervention to control Lois's racing heart with medications. The lung damage and scarring from childhood empyema proved another complication, and while the necessary fibrillation treatment succeeded in controlling her heart rate, Lois found her breathing more difficult. Subsequently Lois was diagnosed and treated for pulmonary fibrosis by Dr. Justin Swartz. In 2015 Lois's lung disease progressed, and it presented a constant challenge for Dr. Swartz and her other health care providers to treat and manage her symptoms. Lois required oxygen and had some unrelated physical limitations, restricting her ability to continue enjoying many favorite activities such as traveling to see her grandchildren, going out to eat with friends, and walking at SouthPark mall. When Lois and Gettys did get out and about, people were surprised when they asked this fragile lady -- sitting in a wheelchair and using oxygen to breathe -- how she was doing; her reply was always, "Super!" Despite the challenges, Lois knew that she could still share her passion for music through teaching, which sustained and motivated her through many difficult times. Working with her students in the home, at competitions, and recitals always energized and uplifted her. She will be fondly remembered by her students, family, colleagues, and friends for her unique personality, patience, courage and persistence.