Martha Lorraine Harris

Martha Harris 

Martha Lorraine Harris, 82, affectionately known as "Nannie," passed away peacefully on November 24 in the wonderful care of the team at the Treasure Coast Hospice Lynch Pavilion in Fort Pierce, Fla., after a six-month battle with cancer.

Born to Rea and Ethel Johnston on Veterans Day, November 11, 1942, at Jane Chinn Hospital in Webb City, Mo., Martha spent many of her early years in the tiny town of Duenweg, Mo., forming cherished bonds with Everett and Carolyn Goade, who were more siblings than first cousins to Martha, an only child. It was there that she met her childhood sweetheart, Marvin Hodges, Everett’s best friend.

Later, Martha's father would be transferred to New Jersey, where she started high school just as the Beatles debuted on Ed Sullivan. Living just outside Manhattan made a big impact on Martha, who already loved movies and would now get to attend Broadway shows with her parents. It was at her New Jersey high school that she met her "best friend Jan," (which she’d say with Jan's trademark Jersey accent, always as a tribute). Jan and Martha remained close to the end. Despite her newfound friend, being away from her cousins and Marvin would prove to be too much, so Martha begged her parents to return to Missouri and stay with her aunt and uncle to finish high school.

On August 30, 1958, she and Marvin married (at the ages of 15 and 18). Martha would say, "Not because they had to but because they'd already seen what was on at the drive-in that weekend, so why not?" Both sets of parents fully supported the union.

In the summer of 1960, their son Danny was born followed by daughter Lisa in 1966. By that time, Marvin's career had taken the family to Phoenix and eventually Tulsa, Colorado Springs and Honolulu before returning to Webb City after Marvin's retirement and an eventual divorce many years later.

Martha found love again with Neil Harris, a renowned medallion sculptor and numismatist whom she reconnected with while working for many years at the American Numismatic Association (ANA). After marrying, Martha and Neil resided in Lafayette, Ind., where she served as an Administrative Assistant at the Dauch Alumni Center at Purdue University until her retirement. Soon after, they would relocate to Florida’s Gulf Coast to follow the sun and escape the snow.

After several happy years together, Neil passed following a short-term illness and Martha would move closer to her daughter Lisa and son-in-law Dave, first in the Chicago suburbs and eventually back to Florida, this time on the Treasure Coast in Port Saint Lucie.

For the last several years, Martha lived an idyllic life in Savanna Club just six houses down from Lisa and Dave in her home that she adored and decorated with her trademark poppies, antique dolls, Gone with the Wind memorabilia and teal keepsakes. She would see her grandson Ryan graduate from Southern Methodist University, attend his wedding in Dallas and meet her great-granddaughter, Austin. She also cherished being "Nannie" to Dave's kids and grandchildren, especially when everyone came to Florida for Christmas 2023.

One of her greatest joys was her beloved cat, "Precious," adopted for her by Lisa from the Treasure Coast Hospice Treasured Pets Program in 2022. Still a grieving widow, Martha was comforted by having a pet again, and the two formed an instant bond.

Besides Precious, Martha is survived by her daughter Lisa (Dave) Gunggoll of Port Saint Lucie, Fla.; grandsons Ryan Miller of Dallas, Texas, and Justin Gunggoll of Atlanta, Ga.; granddaughters Kamryn Hodges Magnuson of Springdale, Ark. and Jamie (Anthony) Paino of Elkhart, Ind.; great-grandchildren Austin Marie Miller of Dallas; and Dominic, Jonah and McCartney Paino of Elkhart. She is also survived by stepdaughters Nina Harris of Colorado and Nadine (Ras) Peel of Virginia, and nieces and nephews Steve (Rhonda) Hodges, Todd Hodges, Diana Stone, and Brenda Smith.

Martha was preceded in death by her parents, Rea Johnston and Ethel Erickson, her beloved son Danny Hodges, Marvin Hodges, and Neil Harris as well as beloved cousins Everett Goade and Carolyn Goade Johnson.

She adored old movies, especially "Gone with the Wind" and "Casablanca," which she watched with regularity, and could quote the lines like an audience member at the "Rocky Horror Picture Show." Her all-time favorite musical was “Phantom of the Opera.” She loved Florida sunsets and Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, her cat "Precious" (and the many pets that came before her). But most of all, she loved her family, far and wide, whom she took great pride in staying connected to, even locating and corresponding with cousins still living in Sweden. She also cared for and kept in touch with many friends -- including her Savanna Club neighbors, her "Purdue Chums" and the ANA alums who knew her as “Marti” from way back when.

We will miss her more than she could have imagined. We are so thankful she is no longer in pain and will remember her with the beauty, style, humor and grace that she so effortlessly displayed.

"Here's looking at you, kid."

Memorial contributions may be made to the Treasured Pets Program of Treasure Coast Hospice.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024 from 12:30-1:00 PM with a memorial service to follow at 1:00 PM at Haisley Funeral Home, Fort Pierce.