Sara Harris

Albany, N.Y. — Sara Hilda Richman Harris, 95, beloved wife of the late Raymond Harris, MD, passed away peacefully at her home in Albany on Sunday, May 15, 2016. She was born on March 17, 1921, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Aaron and Rivella Richman. With her parents, who, from the 1920’s, owned and operated one of the first Jewish overnight camps in the country, she was both a camper and later head counselor at Camp Eagle Point for Girls and Camp Stinson for Boys on Stinson Lake, N.H. Sara Harris was a graduate of both Girls Latin School in Boston and the University of Chicago, and studied at the Art Students League in New York City. A painter, she was active in the Albany Artists Group, served on a number of boards of community organizations, including the Harmanus Bleecker Library, and, as a volunteer, created the Red Cross Friendly Visitor Service which organized visitors to shut-ins and nursing home patients. She was a selfless member of the board of the Albany Inter-Racial Council. However, her altruism did not end there. She informally advised and counseled hundreds of people, connecting them to her vast network of professional and community contacts. Into her nineties, with Alzheimers, Sara still managed to care for her caregivers, helping them with family problems, and bringing joy to all who knew her.

In the 1950’s, with her husband, Ray, a cardiologist and activist gerontologist, she founded the Center for the Study of Aging, a non-profit research foundation which sponsored international conferences on physical fitness, sports and aging as well an annual Fitness After Fifty conference in Rensselaerville, N.Y. for health professionals. She directed the Center well into her eighties, also hosting “Sunday for Seniors,” a popular weekly radio program.

Sara loved laughing, parties at her home, watching the birds and bunnies on her lawn, the colors of sunset spreading across the city skyline, the lilacs and the tulips.

She is survived locally by her daughter, Laura Harris-Hirsch, her husband, Ed Hirsch, of Lebanon, N.H.; and grandchildren Raphael Hirsch of Boston and Shaina Hirsch of Tel Aviv.

She is also survived by her other children, Anita Harris of Cambridge, Mass., Jonathan O. Harris, MD, his wife Stephanie, their children, Daniel, Bena Marie and Jacob of Ft. Lauderdale, Alan Harris and his wife, Charlayne Woodard, of Los Angeles; and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral service was in Albany with burial in Meyer-David Cemetery in Claremont.

In keeping with Jewish tradition, in lieu of flowers, friends are invited to send memorial contributions to the Grafton Country Senior Citizens Council, 10 Campbell Street, POB 433, Lebanon, N.H.

Friends can visit the Harris-Hirsch house in Lebanon, Sunday, May 22, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.