Harris: Irene Margaret Harris (nee Maxwell) passed away peacefully on June 22, 2025 in Sharbot Lake, Ontario. She was born August 1, 1925 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan where she spent her childhood. After moving to Toronto as a young woman, she met her husband Roy when he returned from overseas in 1946 and they were married in 1948. Irene worked for Bell Telephone and then Simpson’s Department Store as a switchboard operator. She then worked for the Allstate Insurance Company until Roy’s company moved them to Windsor to open an office there in 1957. Irene worked as a Sales Secretary there for about seven years. Windsor and area had some good golf courses that they enjoyed in the summers and skiing in northern Michigan in the winters. They also took up ballroom and square dancing. In 1969 they made another move to open an office in Gravenhurst and lived on Lake Muskoka waterfront into retirement, and enjoyed many winters in Florida and then Arizona. Irene was artistic with pottery, ceramics, macrame and flower pressing for card making and loved when her nieces and nephews visited so she could teach them her talents. She was an avid gardener and kept their property looking beautiful and full of colour. She had a love of reading and always a good romance novel on the go! In 2004 she moved in with her sister Dorothy for more lakeside living in Sharbot Lake. Irene is survived by her sister Cheryl Gibson and sister-in-law Rowena Maxwell. She will be lovingly remembered by her sister and sister- in-law, her many nieces and nephews including her Godson David Maxwell as well as extended family and friends. She was predeceased by her husband of 50 years, Roy Harris, her parents Lennis and Dorothy (Payne) Maxwell, her brothers William, Gordon, Roy and Donald Maxwell and her sister Dorothy Fraser. The family wishes to thank all of the staff at Sharbot Lake Retirement Residence where Irene was residing for the last three and a half years and special thanks to Christina and Andrew for their exemplary care and support.
