Judith Harris

Judith "Judy" Margaret Harris (née McManus) was born December 20, 1941 in LaSalle, IL to Charles Patrick "Newt" and Margaret Ellen "Nellie" McManus, and died unexpectedly March 21, 2026 at the age of 84 at her home in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, IL. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Charles "Mac" McManus, her niece Linda (Tom) Zukowski (née McManus), and her husband Terrell "Terry" in August 2025. She is survived by her daughter Amy Harris, her son Bradley Harris, her granddaughter Ciara, her nieces Kim (Steve) Aldana, Meg (Bill) McCarel, Kathy (Mike) Uzelac, Maura (Ed) Dunn, and Heather (Joe) Ennis, and her nephews Tim (Kathy) Harris, Matt (Anne) McManus, Wayne McManus, Kelly (Gwen) Harris, Doug (Caryn) McManus, Pat (Karen) McManus, Rick (Angie) Harris, and Neil (Alicia) McManus, as well as many grand-nephews, grand-nieces, and countless dear friends.

Judy grew up in the small town of Oglesby, IL and was very close to her brother Mac. Her family included a dog named Mr. Magoo and a bird who sat on her pencil as she did her homework. She excelled in school and went on to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to major in French and minor in Russian. While attending college, she caught the attention of the NSA and passed their test to do decoding work, but she ultimately turned them down to take a different job. She met Terry while attending college and they married just after she graduated in 1964. After Terry graduated, they moved to Chicago, initially to the Lakeview neighborhood where Terry completed his masters, and then to the Edgewater neighborhood where they would raise their children.

She returned to working outside the home at the Social Security Administration in 1982, and then a few years later returned to school at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management to earn her MBA and later her CPA. From there she worked at Arthur Andersen and the League of Chicago Theaters, and then for many years she was the CFO, Personnel Manager, and IT manager at Executive Service Corps, a non-profit pairing retired executive volunteers with other non-profits who needed their consulting expertise.

In 1998, she and Terry bought their Victorian house in Logan Square and together they restored it and collected antiques. Almost everyone on her block knew her and noted how kind she was, especially to their children, and how she greeted their dogs. She retired in the mid 2000s and a few years later she delighted in the birth of Amy's daughter Ciara.

Some of her favorite things included jazz music, skiing, sailing, family gatherings, walking around the neighborhood, spending time with her children and granddaughter, and mystery novels. Her favorite color was blue. She was an excellent chef. She possessed a dry wit and a love of children and animals, and she will be remembered fondly for her kindness and keen intelligence.

In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to Beat the Streets Chicago. Beat the Streets helps at-risk Chicago youth through athletics and enrichment programs. You can read about what they do at btschicago.org.


A celebration of life will take place on Saturday, May 2, 2026 1-4pm at The Annex at 2714 W North Ave in Chicago. Please join us in remembering Judy.