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Jean Thomson Harris

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LEGAL ISSUES EARLY HISTORY FAMOUS WOMEN ROTARY ANN JEAN THOMSON HARRIS TIMELINE
Inner Wheel Clubs in Great Britain and Ireland  DISCUSSION UPDATES WHAT'S NEW?
Internal Links
A biography by Paul Harris
At home with Paul
A Rose for Jean
Jean and Paul visit Canberra in 1935

Jean Remembers

Paul Harris
Jean's Parents
A genealogy of Jean Thomson Harris
Jean visits Brisbane
Reflections from a Scottish Rotarian
Jean Harris inducted into the Inner Wheel
Jean's Travels With Paul
Travels in Spanish at the Buenos Aires website
The Jean Thomson Harris Memorial from Rotary Club 62, Edinburgh, Scotland 
Jean addresses the 1942 Toronto Convention
Jean's remarks at the 1943 St. Louis Convention
Her Farewell at the 50th anniversary convention of Rotary in Chicago
 Jean's health, from an article "First Woman in Rotary" 1997 RI Convention - Glasgow

 

Jean Thomson Harris

November 8, 1881 - November 9, 1963                      

 

This project, to document the life of Jean Harris, was begun on 27 January 2002 at the suggestion of Maureen Bonds, Bulawayo Rotary Club / Zimbabwe, South Africa
The young hiker had not noticed the underbrush's damage to his jacket. "Oh, it's torn!" cried somebody sympathetically. "But I could easily repair it for you. My name's Jean Thomson."

He looked at her and promptly forgot all about the rip.

    "I'm Paul Harris," said he. "I enjoy hiking. I think it's wonderful."

 

The Golden Strand (An informal history of the Rotary Club of Chicago)  Quadrangle Books, Chicago 1966

[From Paul and Jean's 1934 visit to RC of Edinburgh] "So, on April 4, they traveled to Edinburgh where Lord Provost Thomson had invited Rotary's President Emeritus to attend and speak as the guest of honour at the banquet of the Assembly of the Lords Provost of Scotland. Highland pipers played the plaintive 'Road to the Isles' as the Harris' ascended the steps to the City Chambers. For the 52-year-old Jean, who had left her city 25 years earlier, it was a most memorable homecoming." 

Read the article at cities/clubs/62paulvisits.htm

 

In "My Road to Rotary," Chapter 42 The End of The Journey2,  Paul Harris writes these three  paragraphs about his "Scottish Lassie," Jean Thomson Harris.

    "So here we are at the end of our journey and Jean and I are sitting at our fireside drinking a cup of tea. One who marries a Scottish lady must acquire the habit of sitting at the fireside and drinking black tea and indeed it is a delightful break in the cares and duties of the day. If the tea is good and the fire burns merrily, one enjoys recreation and rest. It's a good way to end the day.

    The tea cozy at my lady's right hand keeps the tea hot for a long time and there is nothing my lady enjoys better than filling one's cup. Many cups of tea has she served to visiting friends from Britain and other countries and how sociable and friendly a custom it is. The bellow sends the sparks flying up the chimney when applied by my lady's vigorous hands and she will tolerate no assistance either in building her fire or keeping up the music of the snapping embers.

     Queen of the fireside and the teatable at "Comely Bank" is my lady Jean and the thought often comes to me that her steadfast devotion to duty was not excelled even by grandmother. I am indeed a fortunate man; of that I am sure and this is the very place and this is the very hour for reverie even thought lady Jean maintains that my reveries far too frequently are preludes to cat naps and my cat naps preludes to slumber outright."

 

 

2Copyright Rotary International

Read more about Comely Bank today.
Questions or Comments? Click Here
Jean Harris Centennial Tribute from District 1020
2006 visit by ROTARY/One
1943 Visit to Paul & Jean's Chicago Home

Rotary First 10o historian Cal Thomson

 

 

 

*Additional references to Ed Lucas's PDF article are from the James Walsh 1979 Book, The First Rotarian; the post office street directories of the period; Edinburgh School records; and the 1881 and 1891 Census Documents
Comely Bank Avenue, the home of the Thomson family in Edinburgh. A PDF file by *Ed Lucas of RC of Edinburgh on the life of Jean Harris. 

The contents of this website, our electronic features and newsletters have been researched, collected, compiled, and written by Rotarians.

RGHF Mission: As an effort to serve others, RGHF accumulates and preserves the complete history, values and philosophy of the Rotary movement, as well as encourages others to do the same at every level of the Rotary movement, and publishes those histories, values and philosophies on the internet, as well as other forms of media as expedient. 17 March 2003, amended 20 December 2007, Rotary Global History Fellowship Board of Directors.

This fellowship is not an agency of, or controlled by, Rotary International, but is affiliated with individual Rotary districts, clubs, other Rotary organizations and enjoys the support of Rotarians, clubs, districts, and zones world-wide. The views and opinions expressed on this website are not necessarily the collective views and opinions of Rotary International or all Rotarians. Rotary International is not responsible for any content and accepts no liability therefore. © 2000-2008 RGHF (Rotary Global History Fellowship)