Kay Harris

Mrs. Janet Kay Novinger Harris of Academy Avenue passed away February 29, 2016.

A memorial service will be held 2:00 PM Saturday, April 9, 2016 at All Saints Episcopal Church Parish Hall officiated by Rev. Edward Scott. A reception will follow in the family room.

Kay was born February 7, 1947 in Ottumwa, IO to the late Carl Samuel Novinger and Frieda Grace Trimmer Novinger.

After graduating from high school, she attended Hamline University in St. Paul, MN in the fall of 1965. There, she developed friendships with a group of freshmen girls assigned to the 3rd floor in Drew Hall, a newly formed coed dorm. They became the Drew Crew. The girls gathered for reunions after graduation and since 1994, have met every year. The Drew Crew’s adventures have been full of laughs, talks, good food and wine from coast to coast and the Midwest (San Francisco to the Outer Banks, and just last year in Charleston), memories that will be remembered and cherished.

In 1967, Kay did a summer school program in Hawaii. A young man named Bill Harris, who was in the Navy, was stationed there. Bill and Kay were set up on a blind date and the rest is history, according to Bill. They married on June 9,1969. He transplanted her to Concord, where they lived happily for 46 years.

Kay was a well-known and highly respected member of the Cabarrus County Association of REALTORS since 1974, where she served in many roles, including President in 1988 and 1995. She was instrumental in the planning and building phases of the local association offices and was a recipient of the Association’s REALTOR of the Year award in 1988. She also served on various committees at the state level with the NC Association of REALTORS. She owned and operated Kay Harris, REALTORS for over 25 years. Kay will be sorely missed by her real estate friends and peers.

She was also involved in community affairs. Kay was an active member of the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary of Concord. She served as past Treasurer, assisted with the group workshops and participated in the Auxiliary’s Annual Souper Bowl Fundraiser. Auxiliary members will miss her energy and her ever-present smile and willingness to help others. She was an avid hiker, having been a long time member of the women’s hiking club, “The Happy Hikers”. She was instrumental in organizing the trips and was affectionately known as one of the “chief navigators”. Kay and Bill were active members of All Saints Episcopal Church and had served together on the altar guild for many years as well as other activities in the church.

In addition to her husband, William “Bill” Harris, Kay will be sorely missed by so many loving friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, 216 Patterson Avenue SE, Concord, NC 28025, or All Saints Episcopal Church, 525 NE Lake Concord Road, Concord, NC 28025 or to Hospice and Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, 5003 Hospice Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081.