Physician, wife, mother, mayor and role model.
By TRUST member, Susan Wiese

“Visionary.” “Great integrity.” “The kindest person I have ever worked with.” “Respectful, even in the most confrontational situations.” “A stellar example of the best in public leadership.” These are some of the things former colleagues, co-workers and friends have said about Jean Harris, M.D., former Eden Prairie mayor, member of the Women’s Health Leadership Trust, and many other things. Harris, a non-smoker, died Dec. 14, 2001 at age 70 of lung cancer.

During the TRUST meeting the previous October, Harris shared her personal guiding principles or "dictums" (as she called them) that she developed over a lifetime.

These dictums were shaped by her childhood in the segregated South - the South that existed before Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement came to fore. The dictums were the cornerstone of a commencement address Harris delivered to College of St. Catherine graduates several years ago in which she said, "I have had a very exciting life. Had I to live it over, I'd live it pretty much the same way ... I can truthfully say, it was a great journey."

Harris’ great journey took the road less traveled. Her biography is a series of firsts. She was the first African-American to attend the Medical College of Virginia. She was the first woman and African-American to be appointed secretary of human resources in the state of Virginia, and she was one of the first female vice presidents of a Fortune 500 company. Last, but probably not least, she was the first woman to be Eden Prairie’s mayor.

Norman Cousins once said, “the human spirit admittedly is a vague term... and yet (it is) the single most identifiable feature of human uniqueness.” Harris, known for her singular achievements, was large in spirit. “She worked tirelessly to the end," said Jim Clark, Eden Prairie public safety director. “She was big on taking on the big guys, just like she took on cancer.”

Harris was known for her perseverance and tenacity in dealing with adversity. She fought for social justice and gave voice to the not-so-likely to be heard. Even with her notoriety, her accomplishments, and years of public service, the physician, wife, mother, mayor and role model will be remembered not only for what she did, but for the integrity and kindness she brought to the “doing.” 

A Summary of Jean Harris' Dictums

Life is a poker game. Play the hand you're dealt. Play to win.

No matter what you do, not everyone is going to like you.

Don't let your life just happen. Live it. Every important decision is a calculated risk.

If you want to retain some measure of control over your life, do everything possible to become a player rather than a bystander.

It is important as individuals and important as women that we nurture ourselves.

Don't let big systems swallow you. Even the most routine and boring tasks offer ideas and opportunities for innovation.

Over a lifetime, we all develop skills that are useful when applied to a task or at a point in time, help move social progress, civilization and culture, forward.

If you really want something, go flat out for it.

No matter where you go in this world, people are more alike than they are dissimilar.

Don't miss the fun of living. In short, don't take yourself too seriously. Laugh a lot. Forgive yourself and others for their faults. After all, we're all human.

Thank you, Jean, for sharing your example and love of life with us. We truly miss you.