Doris Jean Harris (West)

On Tuesday morning, March 24, 2026, Doris Jean Harris (West) died peacefully at home in her sleep with a beautiful smile on her face. She was preceded in death by her parents, Allen and Christine West, and brother, Bobbie West. She is survived by her devoted husband Patrick (Pat) D. Harris and three children – Donna Keehn (Dan), Wes (Lillian), Kent (Angela); six grandchildren – Laura Erhardt (Kaleb), Kaelyn, Victoria (Jacob), Sean, Joshua, and Grace; one great-grandson – Easton; informally adopted daughter – Jing Bryant (Paul); three informally adopted grandchildren – Lex, Liz, and April Wilson; and two informally adopted great-grandchildren - Jesse and Danielle. She is also survived by her sister Sue Foster, niece Linda, and several grand- and great-grand- nieces and nephews. Jean had numerous great friends throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, China, and Japan who will remember her fondly.

Jean was born to Allen and Bertha Christine West in Edgerton, Missouri on October 28, 1940, as the second of three children. Growing up, she had a keen interest in fibrecrafts, which would eventually lead to several paid sewing gigs and many, many knitted items for family and friends. She pursued an associate degree in business before marrying Pat on July 18, 1959. Their first date lasted for the next 66 years as a marriage filled with deep, abiding love.

Jean was a quiet, cheerful, friendly, help-anyone-anywhere-anytime person. She was exceedingly practical and was unmatched when it came to finding the best deal. Jean also had a sassy side that came out every now and again, to her family’s surprise and delight. She truly embodied the meaning of unconditional love in her everyday life and actions, listening to grandchildren’s woes without judgment, making two batches of cinnamon rolls each time due to ongoing debates on the inclusion of raisins, and being present for every family event and celebration.

Jean expressed her love of community through charitable action, committing much time to groups such as TWIGS (Norton Hospital), the March of Dimes, and the American Heart Association. Jean was also involved with Girl Scouts of America, was a den mother for her sons’ Cub Scout troops, and convinced her husband’s little league baseball teams they could win games when her husband’s coaching was not enough! . She was also an essential part from 1989 to 2018 for office and financial management of Micro-Med Inc. that she helped start with her husband in 1989.

Jean was a faithful member of the Westport Road Baptist Church from 1981 to 2020, participating in the Women 3 Bible group, church library, and preschool Sunday children’s group with quiet compassion. Jean was also affectionately known in the Catholic Church as Jean the Baptist (Jean's life-long religion) who brought Pat the Atheist back to God and Catholicism (religion of his youth) and then to ordained ministry (as a Permanent Catholic Deacon). Jean (the Baptist) was known to Pope Paul VI who because of Jean, approved Bishops in 1974 to accept applicants with non-Catholic spouses to enter ordained diaconal ministry. Jean was well-known to Bishops, Clergy, and Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (St Rita parish in Sierra Madra CA), the diocese of Jefferson City (Our Lady of Lourdes in Columbia MO), and (for 45 years) the Archdiocese of Louisville (especially Mother of Good Counsel and St Bernadette in Louisville, All Saints in Taylorsville KY, and St Michael the Archangel in Fairfield KY).

Jean’s Celebration of Life will take place at Newcomer Funeral Home at 235 Juneau Drive, Louisville, KY 40243, from 1pm to 7pm on Friday, May 29. The dress code is casual dress as there will be no formal service. Jean will be interred later in the family plot in Edgerton, MO. Please no flowers; just come for storytelling and remembrance.

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