The life of Garneth Mary Harris "Gem"

Garneth Mary (Gem) Harris was born in Denver Colorado on August 8, 1947 to Arthur Paul Ludka and Ione Marita Ludka (nee Morgan).

She grew up with an older brother Art and younger sister Joy in southwest Denver.

Gem graduated from the University of Colorado Denver campus with a degree in Elementary Education.  She was working at Fort Logan Hospital when she met her future husband Bill at a USO dance at Lowry Air Force Base in early 1970.  They dated until Bill was assigned to a remote Alaskan base.  For nearly six months, they wrote and called one another and their relationship grew.  In January of 1971, Bill took leave, returning to Denver when they decided to marry.  Bill returned to Alaska and Gem and her Mom prepared for their wedding in June when Bill came back.

Bill and Gem were married at the Englewood Methodist church on June 19, 1971 where a number of family members had married.

Then began their adventure together.  Bill's next assignment was the Washington D.C. area where they settled in as a new married couple until about September of 1972 when he was transferred to Patrick AFB in Satellite Beach Florida.  They remained in Florida until December 1973 after Bill was discharged from the Air Force.  They then decided to move back to Denver so Bill could continue to work on a career in radio broadcasting.

Bill and Gem lived and worked in Denver from April of 1974 until April of 2004.  During that time, Gem pursued working in a number of positions in banking, the mortgage business and the event planning business and to manage Bill's engineering service business for a few years.  While in Denver, she and Bill were able to participate in lots of family events and to host a number of holiday dinners at their house.  Gem was also a real friend to her Mom, especially after Ione's husband Art passed away.  They would have lunch, golf and other activities.

During their time in Denver and then in Albuquerque, Gem and Bill were fortunate to travel quite a lot throughout the United States, visiting cities in many states.

In 2003, Gem semi-retired and took up raising their new dog buddy, Brandi.  He turned out to be a great pal.

Then, in April 2004, Bill was laid off from his engineering job with a local radio group.  For the first time in 30 years, they had to seriously consider relocating for Bill to find a new position, which turned out to be in Albuquerque New Mexico.

She traveled to Albuquerque during May and they found a new home. Bill started his new job on June 1st and Gem worked to finish packing up and selling the house in Denver.  She drove with Brandi to New Mexico and they moved into their new home about August 1st.

Moving to Albuquerque was a challenge, but turned out very well.  Gem found out about the docent program at the Rio Grande BioPark and she entered training in 2005.  Upon graduation, she became a regularly scheduled docent several times a week.  She would spend hours at her desk at home on the internet researching different animals for her presentations.  Bill said a number of times that someone could probably get a degree with all the research materials that she accumulated.

Gem continued to pursue her docent activities for a number of years until health issues made it too difficult for her to make the physical effort required.

Gem and Bill also found a wonderful community at the Cross of Hope church.  They made many friends  that have continued to this day.

In recent years, Gem and Bill continued to spend time together quietly at home, as Gem was unable to travel due to her health issues.

Gem is survived by her husband of 54 years, William (Bill) Harris, her brother, Arthur Ludka of Lakewood, Colorado and his wife Barbara and their daughter, Gem's niece, Angela and her daughters, Ashley and Skye; Gem's sister, Joy Johnson and her daughter, Jennifer and her children; Joy's son, Terry and his children; Gem's Uncle, BG Campbell and his wife Rita and their daughters and many cousins.  Her extended family included Bill's sister, Suzanne Paul of Farmington, Michigan and her husband, Charlie Paul and their three children, Vince Paul, Coreen McElroy Paul and Sara Bowman who also loved their "Aunt Gem".

Memorial Services are pending and will be announced and updated on this website.