Verna Annetha (Whittaker) Harris

Verna Annetha (Whittaker) Harris, age 80, was called home October 25, 2024. She passed peacefully at home surrounded by family after a courageous battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Annetha was born in Clintwood, Virginia in 1944 to Albert Edgar Whittaker and Aldine (Suggs) Whittaker. She grew up on Mill Creek Road in Pound, Virginia. The family eventually moved to Alexandria, Virginia in 1960.  

Annetha graduated from Annandale High School in 1962 and soon began working for the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in Washington, D.C. Annetha also met her future husband, Terry Duane Harris in 1962 at the ICC, and they married May 7, 1965, in Lanham, MD.  Annetha and Terry had two sons, Duane and Dustin. In 1995 she transferred to and later retired from the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. 

Annetha lived in Haymarket, Virginia from 1977 – 2020. From 2020 to 2022 she lived in Garner, North Carolina and from 2023 – 2024 in Pittsboro, North Carolina.

Annetha was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years in 2022, Terry Duane Harris; her mother Aldine (Suggs) Whittaker in 2012; and her father Albert Whittaker in 2015. 

Annetha was a lifelong Elvis Presley fan. She enjoyed genealogy, crocheting, crafts, chocolate, humor, and the outdoors. She was an ardent listener with deep Appalachian roots. She was caring and thoughtful, providing nurturing and unconditional love to family and friends. 

Annetha is survived by her brothers Albert E. Whittaker II and family of Alexandria, Virginia and Rick Whittaker and family in Henderson, Nevada; sisters Brenda McMahon of Manassas, Virginia, Karen Whittaker of Pound, Virginia, and Sonia Whittaker of Henderson, Nevada; her son Duane A. Harris (Julia), and granddaughters Ada and Clara of Milledgeville, GA; her son Dustin A. Harris (Autumn), grandchildren Rosa, David, Kaitlyn, Ryan, and Turner of Pittsboro, North Carolina, and great grandsons Max and Elias.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorial contributions in the name of Verna Annetha Harris be made to Cure PSP, 325 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10013. 

Annetha will be buried at the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain, North Carolina, following services on Saturday November 9, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. held at Donaldson Funeral Home in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Visitation is at 11:00 a.m.

Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Harris family.