On Monday, May 4, 2020, Nancy Jane Harris Gilder ran into the open arms of her loving savior, Jesus Christ. She fought a difficult battle against multiple myeloma and won the ultimate victory.
Nancy was born in Tupelo, MS, in December 1944, to Dr. and Mrs. Aubrey Russell Harris. Except for a brief stay in Cambridge, MA, Nancy grew up in Tupelo where she enjoyed playing in her grandmother’s vegetable garden, dancing ballet and tap, and begrudgingly learned the clarinet, rather than the flute, well enough to earn a college scholarship. In the summers, Nancy established a legacy attending Camp DeSoto for girls, which she later passed on to her daughter, as well as her son who attended brother Camp Alpine. The summer before her senior year, Nancy became a well-established xenophile by traveling to the Holy Land, Soviet Union, and Far East with her great aunt on a Christian missions tour. In 1961, Nancy graduated from Tupelo High School and matriculated to the University of Mississippi. While a student at Ole Miss, Nancy was a pre-med biology major and a member of Alpha Delta Pi fraternity. During her junior year, she attended the Navy ROTC Ball on a blind date with Jerry Quinton Gilder, then of Greenville, MS. She graduated from Ole Miss with a B.S. in Biology in 1966 and, in 1967, became the first student to complete an M.A. in Psychology at Ole Miss in under 12 months. On Thanksgiving Day, 1967, Nancy and Jerry wed in a small gathering at her parents’ home on Church Street in Tupelo. A few days after their first anniversary, Nancy and Jerry welcomed their precious firstborn, Christopher Michael, who shortly thereafter died in surgery and preceded them to heaven.
During the Vietnam War years, Nancy was proud to be the wife of a naval aviator, spending time living on bases in Spain, Italy, and near the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C. During this time, in February 1971, Nancy gave birth to their son, Timothy Horton. She divided her time working as a developmental and child psychologist and a doting mother and wife. When Jerry retired from the Navy, they moved to Memphis, TN, where he attended dental school, and Nancy worked at the Les Passees Treatment Center with developmentally challenged children. Once Jerry graduated in 1976, the family moved to Hattiesburg, MS, where Jerry established his dental practice, and Nancy wore many hats as a full-time domestic engineer, emphasis on the engineer. In February 1983, they welcomed their long-awaited daughter, Jane Catherine Christine, who was also a very noisy 12th birthday present for their son, Tim. It was during this period that Nancy began to exercise her artistic creativity with interior design, applied her biology degree to landscaping and extensive gardening, and became an all-around superfan to her children. Truly she was the most creative storyteller, even if she sang bedtime hymns a little off-key. In 1992, Nancy decided to pursue her lifelong dream to become medical professional by attending the nursing school at the University of Southern Mississippi. She studied long and hard, and by December 1994, Nancy graduated from Southern Miss with a B.S.N. and held the highest GPA for the university’s entire graduating class of the semester. She used her training as a nurse at Forrest General Hospital, as well as on mission trips to Honduras with her church and family and as a volunteer after Hurricane Katrina.
For Nancy, the most important events in her life weren’t the ones classically recorded in an obituary. She loved to tell how her Gran introduced her to Jesus at an early age and that the most important task of her life was ensuring that her children were Christians as well. She was an active member of Temple Baptist Church, though she and Jerry raised their children at First Baptist Church of Hattiesburg on Pine Street. Nancy treasured her family. She was an excellent mother, a devoted wife, a loving daughter, and a true friend. Her artistic gifts meant that she left everything a little more beautiful than she found it. She always put in 100% effort.
Nancy is preceded in death by her beloved newborn son Christopher, with whom she is overjoyed to be reunited and is most certainly singing to with perfect pitch.
She is survived by husband Jerry; children Tim and Chrissy; children-in-law Vicki and Josh; grandchildren Madison Grace (22), Davis Aubrey (17), and James Harris Jeanson (6 weeks); siblings Mary Ann Gulley and Aubrey Russel “Rusty” Harris Jr; many brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews; and her maltipoo, Missy (12).
Due to the epidemic, funeral services will be live streamed from Moore Funeral Home on Friday, May 8, 2020, at 11:30 am, and a recording of the off-line graveside service will follow. The family is planning to host a celebration of Nancy’s life once it is safe for people to gather.
