Cynthia Ann Harris

Cynthia Ann Harris passed away on December 7th, 2018 in Santa Barbara doing what she loved to do every day – finishing an early morning gym workout and with her dog Bo no doubt getting ready to go hiking in the hills of Montecito which she cherished. Cindy was born on August 11, 1937 in Los Angeles, California. She was the oldest of the three children of Clement Baily Soth and Dorothy Gretchen Scharf. Cindy went north to the University of California at Santa Barbara where she studied and majored in History. She was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority where she made countless contributions and remained an active alumnus. She married Walter Coleman Harris on February 20, 1960 and they settled in Santa Barbara after having both completed their studies at UCSB. Walt and Cindy were married for 58 years and she was a compassionate and loving partner to Walt. She was also an amazing mom raising her children Matt and Amy with love and care as they were her pride and joy. Cindy was truly a Renaissance woman always pursuing her dreams and passions with intention and purpose. In addition to a loving spouse and mother, she was a gourmet cook and expert craftswoman having perfected sewing, knitting, needle craft and embroidery. She held multiple positions in the Junior League of Santa Barbara including President at one point. She was also an active member of Las Aletas and Laguna Cottages. Cindy built three substantial businesses in the fields of woman’s retail clothing, landscaping and antiques. She was an avid antique collector and built a reputation as a shrewd judge of quality and value. She loved the outdoors deeply and built this into a lifelong passion for landscape architecture. She became a self-taught landscape expert working with Steve Hanson Landscaping as an advisor and designer. Cindy was an avid hiker having completed many challenging and picturesque hikes in her lifetime including a steep descent into the Grand Canyon late in her lifetime. Perhaps the most telling of her accomplishments and evidence of her strong will and determination is her having run four New York City Marathons in her seventies. Along with her husband and her brother John and sister Mary, she is survived by her two children Matt (Jennifer Morton) and Amy (Joe Hogan) and the grandchildren she so adored (Riley Flynn, Dakota True and Beckett Coleman). A remembrance service will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Montecito on Tuesday, December 11th at 2:00PM in the afternoon. Donations can be made to Team for Kids, www.runwithtfk.org in memory of Cindy Harris. Cindy was always of service to those around her and traveled each day of her life with hope in her heart knowing she never walked alone.

Cynthia Ann Harris

August 11, 1937 - December 7, 2018