Two bishops’ wives have died in recent weeks, and both were praised for their warm presence and the lives they led.
Sandra Pauline Johnston Folts died July 8 at 81. She and her husband, retired Bishop James Folts of San Antonio, celebrated their 60th anniversary on June 21. One of their two children, Jonathan, followed his father into ordained ministry, and he has served as Bishop of South Dakota since November 2019.
She was a native of Victoria, Texas, and a graduate of George Peabody College for Teachers. She taught kindergarten in Arlington, Virginia, and in Hebbronville, San Marcos, and Brownsville, Texas.
“My father and I were blessed to have been by her side here in a San Antonio hospital,” Jonathan Folts wrote in honor of his mother. “She and my father were married for sixty years — and together, they drove over half a million miles in the Diocese of West Texas while she befriended every person she encountered with the kind of love and joy that can only be expressed by a Christian who has the gentle heart of a kindergarten teacher.”
“People may have respected me,” a family obituary quoted James Folts as saying, “but they loved Sandy.”
She is survived by her husband; a sister, Jeanne Carr; daughter Jeanne Folts Leo; son Jonathan Folts; and six grandchildren.
A burial office service is scheduled at 11 a.m. July 20 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio.
Anne Marshall Stewart Harris, who was married to Bishop Rogers S. Harris, died on June 17 at 91.
Rogers Harris, formerly Bishop Suffragan of Upper South Carolina and Bishop of Southwest Florida, died in 2017.
She was born in New York, and was married to the bishop for 64 years. In more recent years, she attended Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina, and lived at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community in West Columbia.
She is survived by daughters Kathy, Fran, and Becky; five grandchildren; and great-grandchildren. Her funeral occurred on June 22, and worshipers were encouraged to wear bright colors in her honor, as she loved the colors of nature.
“I’m so sad to hear of Anne’s passing. It’s not often you meet a person with such a combination of wit, charm, and humor,” Beth Malenkos wrote on a memorial page. “Anne’s good nature kept you smiling and laughing. It was my honor and pleasure to know her.”