I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Born Emily Anne Callaway on January 16, 1929, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, she could still recite Wordsworth from memory at age 95. Her family moved to the Washington, DC area when she was 13, where she remembered being teased for her southern accent.

Emily met Gordon Harris in 1945. They married in 1948 and started a family in a ramshackle house in Fargo, North Dakota, close to his mother. When he was called back up for the Korean War, Emily moved back to the DC area to be closer to her parents and siblings. She worked hard at finding a way to be paid for her writing, producing such classics as “Slightly Overdrawn”, describing with good humor her adventures managing the family finances on a shoestring budget while raising five kids.

Like other women of her generation, Emily forged her own spot in the workplace after her youngest child went off to school. She went to work at Capitol Publications, a newsletter company founded by her brother, Ken. She ended up as an executive managing the editorial division, the largest group in the company, becoming the breadwinner of the family along the way. She introduced money-making innovations like regional seminars and workshops. Emily retired in 1983, ready to take on new adventures with Gordon.

Initially a reluctant sailor, Emily stepped up to her new role as first mate and (pre-GPS!) navigator, as she and Gordon embarked on a 7-year cruise on their 44-foot sailboard, Ultima. Their travels began in the lower Potomac of Chesapeake Bay and progressed to the Caribbean, around the islands to Venezuela, and back. They put the boat on a freighter to Marseilles, and with the mast down, traveled up the canals of France to Paris. They enjoyed Spain and Sardinia before sailing down to the Canary Islands and back downwind to the Caribbean. They met fellow sailors and made lifelong friends along the way. In 1990, they returned to shore bound life, moving to Naples, Florida.

Emily loved Naples and enjoyed getting back to running again. She began running when she was 40 years old, at a time when it was considered a bit odd. In Naples, she competed in races, often winning in her age group. Emily and Gordon were thrilled when their children and grandchildren visited, so they could show off the sights and points of interest of their adopted Florida home. They had an active social life in Naples, with both family and old sailing friends nearby. After Gordon’s death in 2008 and a close call with Hurricane Irma, Emily moved north along with her beloved cat, Little Girl, to Winchester, Virginia, to be closer to some of her children and grandchildren.

Emily made good friends at the Village at Orchard Ridge in Winchester. She was able to share her passion for sewing and quilting with a sewing group, and she enjoyed her weekly “wine get together” with friends. She remained active, taking outdoor walks in the local parks and around the Village. She would avidly track her steps and distance, even with her walker as time went on. Weekly lunches and walks with her son Keith and outings with daughter Melissa were always a highlight for her. Visits with her son AJ and his kids were tracked on her doorway, as they marked-off the grandkids’ heights. When her son Steven visited, they would play Words with Friends sitting across from one-another like they did daily from across the country.

Emily left this world on her own terms on May 2, 2024. She was surrounded by family and passed peacefully; a life well-lived. Emily was predeceased in death by husband, Gordon King Harris, and brothers Joseph and Kenneth Callaway, and son Gordon Harris, Jr. She is survived by her children Keith, Steven, Melissa, and Arthur Joseph (AJ) and their families.

There will be a memorial to celebrate Emily’s life at the Chapel at The Village at Orchard Ridge on May 25, from 2:00 to 4:00PM. A separate family event to spread her ashes near Gordon’s will be held later in Naples, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Blue Ridge Hospice (https://brhospice.org/donate/).

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.