Harriet McCord Paris, 91

Harriet McCord Paris, died peacefully on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, surrounded by her family at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. She was a remarkable 91-year-old woman, who believed that she had lived an incredibly full and happy life.

Harriet was born to John Merle and Ruby McCord on the family farm in the small community of Farmer City, Ill., on Sept. 26, 1920. When Harriet was 6 years old, her family moved from Illinois to Los Angeles in their Model A Ford, where her father had a good job waiting for him.   

Growing up in Los Angeles in the ‘20s and ‘30s was a special time in her life. As a young girl she and her family loved going to the Santa Monica Beach, movie premieres, and exploring Southern California with family and friends. She graduated from Fairfax High School in 1938. Her family notes that the final moments of her life coincided with the end of the 2012 Academy Awards broadcast.

Harriet decided to attend college with a friend at Montana State in Bozeman in the fall of 1938. There she joined Phi Beta Phi sorority and met her future sister-in-law, Rita Paris, who introduced her to Hugh Thomas Paris, then a senior and football star at Montana State.

After attending Montana State for a year, Harriet returned to Los Angeles and attended business school, eventually working for the telephone company in the drafting department. Hugh never could forget Harriet, and they had a long distance courtship while he taught school and coached in Stanford, Mont., and later joined the Army in 1940.

In August 1942, a month shy of her 22nd birthday, Harriet was on a train from Los Angeles to Illinois to visit family, when Hugh, who was stationed at an Army base in Missouri, met her train and they decided to elope. They were married on Aug. 30, 1942, in Springfield, Mo. It was a simple beginning to a beautiful and loving relationship that lasted for more than 60 years.

Hugh had a distinguished career in the Army that took him and his family to many different posts. While he served in Germany in the European theater, their first child, Susanna Lee, was born in Los Angeles. After the war, Hugh left the U.S. Army and the family moved briefly to San Francisco where Hugh was employed in the banking industry.

Their eldest son, Thomas McCord, was born in San Francisco. In 1949, the family moved to Japan where Hugh served under Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

After living in Tokyo, the family was based in Fort Knox, Ky., and Washington, D.C., where their daughter Heather Ann was born in 1955. In 1958, Hugh retired from active duty and entered private business in Santa Cruz, Calif., where their youngest son, Hugh Jr., was born in 1958.

Through the years, the family continued to visit Montana and always considered the state a home base because of the Paris family members living in the Billings area. In 1972, Hugh and Harriet moved to Kalispell with their two youngest children.

Wherever she lived, Harriet made friends easily and loved to entertain. She was a vivacious part of any gathering, but you were especially fortunate if you were invited to her home as Harriet loved to cook and bake. Her legendary apple pies led to the family joke that her daughters were graduates of "Apple Pie University” because they learned to bake from Harriet in her kitchen. Every summer evening you could find Harriet tending to her beautiful yard where she took great pride in her begonias.

In 1974 Hugh and Harriet purchased Glacier View Golf Course. During the summer months they spent countless hours enjoying golf outings with many of their close and dear friends.

Hugh surprised Harriet with her first trip to Hawaii in 1960 for her 40th birthday. It was then that she fell in love with Hawaii and walking on the beach. From that point in her life, Hawaii held a special place in her heart, and she and Hugh wintered there for 20 years where they developed friendships with people they met, enjoying the weather with family and friends. Harriet and Hugh enjoyed traveling to Europe and other parts of the world with their friends, including a memorable trip to Ireland and Scotland, where they were able to experience The Old Course at St. Andrews and traced their ancestry in Ireland and Scotland.

Known for her quick wit and wonderful sense of humor, Harriet was a treasure as a friend and a mother who was adored by all her children and grandchildren.

 After Hugh passed away in 2003, Harriet continued to live independently in their family home in Kalispell. She enjoyed playing bridge with her longtime bridge group, going out for dinner with her “Saturday Night Swingers” dinner group, and driving her beloved white Cadillac up until the day she passed away.

Harriet was preceded in death by her parents, John Merle and Ruby McCord; and her beloved brother George.

She is survived by her family, daughter Susanna Eaton and husband Ray of Kalispell, son Thomas and his wife Deborah of Cheney, Wash.; daughter Heather Cleary and her husband Joe of Richland, Wash.; and son Hugh Thomas Paris Jr., and his wife Joyce of Kalispell; as well as her grandchildren, Sybil Armstrong, Mac and Ben Noble, Arwen and Cameron Paris, Elizabeth and John Cleary, Kathryn and Meghan Paris; and three great-grandchildren.

She requested that no funeral or memorial service be held. Arrangements and cremation will be conducted by Johnson-Gloschat Mortuary and Crematory. A private family gathering for inurnment is planned for later this summer.

In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with her wishes, donations may be directed to our local Humane Society of NW Montana, 100 Adopt-A-Pet Way, Kalispell, MT 59901; or the Northwest MT Veterans Food Pantry, 1349 Hwy. 2 East, Kalispell, MT 59901.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for Harriet’s family.