Susan Harris

Susan Jacob Harris, a lifelong mathematician and educator, passed away on April 13, 2025, at Collington Life Care Community in Mitchellville, Maryland, with family by her side. Sue was called back home to Heaven at the precise age of 78.9342 years.

She was born on May 7, 1946, in Baltimore, Maryland. The daughter of the late Mark and Marcella Jacob, the family lived in Catonsville, and later on a farm in Howard County with her brother, Bo Jacob. Growing up, Sue loved math, playing flute and piccolo, the ukulele, and singing. After graduating from Mary Washington College in Virginia, she married her husband and best friend of 57 years, The Reverend Larry Harris. Together, they had their son Reed. Sue then taught high school math at Queen Anne School, where she was a favorite of many students and was known for her “love” of bananas.

Her enthusiasm for teaching and working with young people was evident starting as a teenager. She spent many hours as a camp counselor at the Claggett Center, where she first met Larry. Additionally, Sue led countless church youth group trips and projects. In addition, her summers were spent at the family cabin in Augusta, Maine, where Sue was a proud charter member of the elite Dingers’ Club™.

After retirement, Sue took on her favorite role as “Grandma” to Haven Harris, daughter of Therese and Reed Harris, as well as her fur-grandchildren, the late Darla Dooley and 6-year-old Alfalfa Harris, widely regarded as her favorite grandchild. She also took her role as an Aunt very seriously. One of her fondest memories was with niece, Jacy, where they celebrated Jacy turning “forty” (in inches, not years). Jacy’s sister, Cary, credits Sue as the only reason Cary passed calculus.

She is survived by her husband, Larry; her son, Reed and daughter-in-law Therese; granddaughter Haven; her brother, Bo Jacob, as well as her beloved sister-in-law, Willa, her nieces, Jacy Jacob and Cary Jacob; stepmother, Mary Windle-Jacob; her brother-in-law, J.D. Harris and his dearest wife, Su, nephew Stewart Harris and niece Elizabeth McDermott.

Family, friends, and others are invited to the St. Barnabas Episcopal Anglican Church, 14111 Oak Grove Road in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, at 11 am on May 10, 2025, for a memorial service to honor the life of Sue. The family has requested donations in lieu of flowers be made to either the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Mathematics Education Trust (www.nctm.org/Grants-and-Awards/MET-Contribution-Form/) or the University of Mary Washington (My MaryWash - Online Giving Campaign – Give to UMW).