Thursday, April 25, 2024
He was a nearly 30-something confirmed bachelor. She had four children from two marriages and life experiences he couldn’t fathom. Their first date was a dusty, bumpy Jeep ride that required a stop at a mountain spring to get water for the gasping radiator and the little kid in the back seat.
They perfected dusty and bumpy over the next 60 years, embracing happiness, hard work, heroics, and heartbreak that come with a journey welltraveled. Their story moved into the next realm this fall, departing this world five weeks apart, leaving a legacy of love and laughter, memories of kitchen dances, home movies, tractor rides, hospitality, and home cooking. Their story is one of commitment and compromise.
Friends and neighbors are invited to an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26, at the family home. A more formal Celebration of Life will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to help memory care patients at Cashmere Acute Care or to Lake Wenatchee Fire & Rescue Auxiliary.
Neval Bert Harris
Neval Bert Harris, 89, of Plain, passed away on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, at Cashmere Acute Care. Alzheimer’s took him from friends and family memory by memory, but he remained open to making new friends, even if he had known them for years.
Neval was born Feb. 17, 1932, to Lizzie and W.W. Harris, in No. 2 Canyon, Wenatchee, the youngest of six boys —Virgil, Tom, Charles, Lorn and Elmer— and two half siblings, Jerry and Ula Jennings. They moved to Plain in 1936, making the trip in a wagon pulled by a horse and a mule. Neval attended primary school in Plain and graduated in 1950 from Leavenworth High School.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, he worked as a logger. He married Patricia Vey in 1961, creating a home for her and her four children — Tex, Bud, Mary and Bill. They soon added daughter Nevonne and son Neval Allen. The growing family moved into the cabin his grandparents had built — which they remodeled to add space and indoor plumbing.
They lived off the land, raising cows, hay and vegetables in addition to kids. He continued logging, then retired to focus on the farm, growing hay and pulling weeds, accompanied by a series of farm dogs. He stayed busy with projects, including putting together a sawmill, powered by the engine of a Dodge Duster.
He was a Space Invaders, Mario and Tetris master, enjoyed debating Noah’s Ark with Pastor Otto Sather, and tours of his treasure pile and the barn were inevitable for all who visited. He gave tractor rides and pinochle lessons. He could — and did — fix anything with baling wire and duct tape, lending a hand to neighbors, friends – and repairmen, whether they wanted it or not.
Neval is survived by his wife Pat of the family home in Plain; daughter Nevonne (Kelly) McDaniels of Plain; stepchildren John (Hildegard) Eaton of Sachsen, Germany; Charles (Patricia) Eaton of Yuma; Mary (Gary) Espe of Plain; and Bill Granzer of Plain; grandchildren Kimberly (Christian) Mikkelsen of Wenatchee, Stephan McDaniels of Leavenworth, Jenny Segle (Paul Foster) of Union, Adam Granzer of Woodinville, Daysha Eaton of Portland, Luke Eaton of Portland, Reba (Mike) Aguiar of Wenham, MA; and five great grandchildren. He also is survived by his nephew Tom (Betty) Harris of Malaga. He was preceded in death by his son, Neval A. Harris, parents and siblings.
Special thanks to the staff at Cashmere Acute Care. Arrangements are in the care of Heritage Memorial Chapel, East Wenatchee and Cashmere.
Patricia Mae Vey Harris
Patricia Mae Vey Harris, 92, of Plain, died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, at the family home. She was born to Dellary and Lila Vey on July 26, 1929, in Seattle, the third of six children. She was confined to bed for a year with rheumatic fever when she was about 9. Once she recovered, she didn’t slow down.
She married John Eaton at the age of 16. They had three children — Tex, Bud, and Susy. After divorcing, she married William Granzer. She lost Susy to leukemia hours before daughter Mary was born. Son Bill arrived 16 months later. When circumstances prompted change, she packed the kids and dog into a yellow Dodge truck and landed in Plain. Pat and her children settled into a one-room cabin in Shugart Flats. It had a wood stove, no electricity or running water.
She met and married Neval Harris, a logger and farmer. They soon added daughter Nevonne and son Neval Allen. For the next two decades her focus was on raising kids — and cows, pigs, chickens, and a garden — on the farm. As the kids grew, she took on new challenges, opening The Plain Bakery, then writing “The Red Cabin Cookbook” in 1981.
She traveled to Europe to visit her eldest son and delved into genealogy. When Neval retired, she worked at several restaurants before opening her own. She and Neval welcomed 14-year-old grandson Adam into their home.
Pat overcame melanoma and bladder cancer before being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013. Part of one lung was removed. Six months later, her son Neval Allen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She cared for him until he died in August 2015.
“I survived for a reason,” she said. “I needed to be here for him.” Little Neval’s death was followed by the onset of Big Neval’s Alzheimer’s symptoms. She served as his caretaker until March 2018, when he moved to Cashmere Acute Care.
In October 2018, she was told her cancer had returned. They gave her six months. That was three years ago. She stayed active, publishing another cookbook, working puzzles and Facetiming with kids and grandkids. Then Neval died in October. She followed in November.
Pat is survived by her children: John (Hildegard) Eaton of Sachsen, Germany; Charles (Patricia) Eaton of Yuma; Mary (Gary) Espe of Plain; Bill Granzer of Plain; Nevonne (Kelly) McDaniels of Plain; her grandchildren Kimberly (Christian) Mikkelsen of Wenatchee, Stephan McDaniels of Leavenworth, Jenny Segle (Paul Foster) of Union, Adam Granzer of Woodinville, Daysha Eaton of Portland, Luke Eaton of Portland, Reba (Mike) Aguiar of Wenham, MA; and five great grandchildren. She also is survived by her brother Jerry Vey of Plain and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband Neval B. Harris, son Neval A. Harris and daughter Susy Eaton.
A special thanks to the hospice staff for their care. Arrangements are in the care of Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee.
