Darby Ann Harris died peacefully of natural causes on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, in Boise, Idaho. She was 85 years old. Darby (Darb, Grandma D) led a full and interesting life, if not eventful and challenging, and kept her sassy and funny demeanor right up to the end. Darby was born on December 14, 1940, in Portland, Oregon and was the eldest daughter of Hugh and Magdalena (Lux) Brownlow. She was preceded in death by her husband, Darold, and sister Lavina (Brownlow) Shields. Darby is survived by her three children, Dara (James) Wrachford, Darrin (Melissa) Harris, and Darek "Dutch" Harris; seven grandchildren, Sean Troxel, Tyler (Madison Hibshman) Harris, Peyton (Mackenzie) Harris-Bledsoe, Sydney Harris, Kiara Harris, Brooklyn (Ethan Rosas) Harris, and Isaiah Harris; and one great grandchild, Oaklyn Rosas.
Darby lived the first years of her life in Portland, OR with her parents and sister. Darby liked to recall that she had once won a Portland Baby contest. Both of Darby's parents were deaf and, as the eldest, she took on a supporting role in her family's life by learning ASL and taking on responsibilities much earlier than most. As such, she was moved on from kindergarten both due to her advanced intellect and her bold precociousness. She spent many summers with her grandparents at the Lux family farm in Nezperce, ID. She was very close with her grandparents and made the permanent move to Nezperce at the age of 13. While attending school in Nezperce, Darby established lifelong friendships and found her lifetime best friend, Mary Ann Berry, and future husband Darold Harris. Darby graduated from Nezperce High School in 1958 and her and Darold were married the following year.
Darold attended the University of Idaho, and their daughter Dara was born in 1960 in Moscow. While living in Moscow, Darby developed her secretarial skills which she leveraged for the rest of her entire working career. With a new family to support, Darold started his career with the U.S. Forest Service, and they split the year between Orofino and the Canyon Ranger Station in the Clearwater National Forest. During the school year Darby was the school secretary at Orofino High School, and in the summer months they lived in a canvas walled tent near the creek at the ranger station. She often recalled those years with pride and happiness, remarking how much she loved the outdoors, tended a productive garden, and raised her toddler daughter on the 'edge of the wilderness'. As Darold's career progressed, the family moved to Grangeville in 1964, where Darby started her career as a legal secretary, and their two sons, Darrin (1967) and Darek (1969) were born. Darby enjoyed their life in Grangeville as part of the Forest Service 'family' and social activities with the Elks and Jaycees, and frequently hosted dinner parties playing Bridge and Pinochle. Vegetable gardening and growing roses became a lifelong hobby that started at their two homes in Grangeville.
The next stage for Darby and family was again predicated on Darold's promotion to help start the Interagency Fire Center in Boise in 1975. Darby continued working as a legal secretary and eventually became a judicial secretary at the Idaho State Supreme Court of Appeals for Judge Roger Swanstrom... a position she was very proud of. Darby's secretarial skills were amazing, with a typing speed of over 120 words per minute. Her boys recall watching in awe when she typed (without errors) and simultaneously kept them in line. Darby was extremely proud of her children's accomplishments. She was never just a spectating parent; she always found a way to employ her organizational skills or learn new skills to contribute to her children's activities, especially sports. An electronic stopwatch became her tool of choice at both ski races and the track. She became a national-level track and field official for over 30 years where she headed the finish line for high school State track meets, numerous college meets, and two NCAA championships. She joked that she wanted to be buried with that stopwatch. Her proudest moment as a track official came in 2014 when she was asked to return to the Idaho State Track Meet in recognition of her years of service and to handout awards. At that meet she had the joy of handing out two gold medals to her grandson Peyton.
As Darby's boys moved off to college and Dara served in the U.S. Airforce, her next chapter was helping her partner, Roy Burch, raise longhorn cattle at a ranch in King Hill near Glenns Ferry. During the winters, she parlayed her experience as a legal secretary to become a legislative secretary for Senator Laird Noh. She quickly became a favorite of both the politicians and the support staff and was known for hosting highly efficient committee meetings. It was not unusual for her to adroitly put a Senator in their place without ruffling too many feathers. In 2002, the Idaho Statesman featured Darby in a full-page article in the Life section highlighting her exploits and reputation in the legislature. She loved her time at the ranch where she was able to return to vegetable gardening, planting roses (140 yards of yellow roses lined the driveway), and resurrecting her love of camping. Her grandchildren have fond memories of visiting "Grandma D" at the ranch where she named all the longhorn cattle after ice cream flavors and proudly announced at dinners exactly what flavor they were eating that night.
After retiring, Darby moved back to Nezperce where she owned a house in the middle of town just down from the school. As always, she established new friendships and transformed her home's landscape to feature, what else, but roses. A few years later, Darby decided to move to Ocean Park, WA. She loved her years on the coast and was very active socially, making many new friends and was a member of the Elks, Moose, and Eagles lodges. Her rental home was just yards from the beach, and she enjoyed having family visit the Long Beach peninsula where she showed off the sights and her friends. Unfortunately, the COVID years took their toll and Darby eventually (begrudgingly) allowed us to move her back to Boise so that family could help with her health. She had said that she wasn't moving back to Boise until she was ready to 'permanently retire'... and she was right. We were able to spend a good 14 months with her and enjoyed reliving the stories of her life, some sad, some happy, and some not fit to print. Darby was especially grateful for the care and companionship from her daughter-in-law Melissa during this last chapter of her life.
Darby leaves a heritage of laughs, determination, ingenuity, service, and resilience. She did not want a service or memorial, stating "they all have their memories of me, good or bad, that should suffice."
Darby lived the first years of her life in Portland, OR with her parents and sister. Darby liked to recall that she had once won a Portland Baby contest. Both of Darby's parents were deaf and, as the eldest, she took on a supporting role in her family's life by learning ASL and taking on responsibilities much earlier than most. As such, she was moved on from kindergarten both due to her advanced intellect and her bold precociousness. She spent many summers with her grandparents at the Lux family farm in Nezperce, ID. She was very close with her grandparents and made the permanent move to Nezperce at the age of 13. While attending school in Nezperce, Darby established lifelong friendships and found her lifetime best friend, Mary Ann Berry, and future husband Darold Harris. Darby graduated from Nezperce High School in 1958 and her and Darold were married the following year.
Darold attended the University of Idaho, and their daughter Dara was born in 1960 in Moscow. While living in Moscow, Darby developed her secretarial skills which she leveraged for the rest of her entire working career. With a new family to support, Darold started his career with the U.S. Forest Service, and they split the year between Orofino and the Canyon Ranger Station in the Clearwater National Forest. During the school year Darby was the school secretary at Orofino High School, and in the summer months they lived in a canvas walled tent near the creek at the ranger station. She often recalled those years with pride and happiness, remarking how much she loved the outdoors, tended a productive garden, and raised her toddler daughter on the 'edge of the wilderness'. As Darold's career progressed, the family moved to Grangeville in 1964, where Darby started her career as a legal secretary, and their two sons, Darrin (1967) and Darek (1969) were born. Darby enjoyed their life in Grangeville as part of the Forest Service 'family' and social activities with the Elks and Jaycees, and frequently hosted dinner parties playing Bridge and Pinochle. Vegetable gardening and growing roses became a lifelong hobby that started at their two homes in Grangeville.
The next stage for Darby and family was again predicated on Darold's promotion to help start the Interagency Fire Center in Boise in 1975. Darby continued working as a legal secretary and eventually became a judicial secretary at the Idaho State Supreme Court of Appeals for Judge Roger Swanstrom... a position she was very proud of. Darby's secretarial skills were amazing, with a typing speed of over 120 words per minute. Her boys recall watching in awe when she typed (without errors) and simultaneously kept them in line. Darby was extremely proud of her children's accomplishments. She was never just a spectating parent; she always found a way to employ her organizational skills or learn new skills to contribute to her children's activities, especially sports. An electronic stopwatch became her tool of choice at both ski races and the track. She became a national-level track and field official for over 30 years where she headed the finish line for high school State track meets, numerous college meets, and two NCAA championships. She joked that she wanted to be buried with that stopwatch. Her proudest moment as a track official came in 2014 when she was asked to return to the Idaho State Track Meet in recognition of her years of service and to handout awards. At that meet she had the joy of handing out two gold medals to her grandson Peyton.
As Darby's boys moved off to college and Dara served in the U.S. Airforce, her next chapter was helping her partner, Roy Burch, raise longhorn cattle at a ranch in King Hill near Glenns Ferry. During the winters, she parlayed her experience as a legal secretary to become a legislative secretary for Senator Laird Noh. She quickly became a favorite of both the politicians and the support staff and was known for hosting highly efficient committee meetings. It was not unusual for her to adroitly put a Senator in their place without ruffling too many feathers. In 2002, the Idaho Statesman featured Darby in a full-page article in the Life section highlighting her exploits and reputation in the legislature. She loved her time at the ranch where she was able to return to vegetable gardening, planting roses (140 yards of yellow roses lined the driveway), and resurrecting her love of camping. Her grandchildren have fond memories of visiting "Grandma D" at the ranch where she named all the longhorn cattle after ice cream flavors and proudly announced at dinners exactly what flavor they were eating that night.
After retiring, Darby moved back to Nezperce where she owned a house in the middle of town just down from the school. As always, she established new friendships and transformed her home's landscape to feature, what else, but roses. A few years later, Darby decided to move to Ocean Park, WA. She loved her years on the coast and was very active socially, making many new friends and was a member of the Elks, Moose, and Eagles lodges. Her rental home was just yards from the beach, and she enjoyed having family visit the Long Beach peninsula where she showed off the sights and her friends. Unfortunately, the COVID years took their toll and Darby eventually (begrudgingly) allowed us to move her back to Boise so that family could help with her health. She had said that she wasn't moving back to Boise until she was ready to 'permanently retire'... and she was right. We were able to spend a good 14 months with her and enjoyed reliving the stories of her life, some sad, some happy, and some not fit to print. Darby was especially grateful for the care and companionship from her daughter-in-law Melissa during this last chapter of her life.
Darby leaves a heritage of laughs, determination, ingenuity, service, and resilience. She did not want a service or memorial, stating "they all have their memories of me, good or bad, that should suffice."
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