Dr. Marsha Josephine Harman

Dr. Marsha Josephine Harman was born in Houston, Texas on September 7, 1951, the eldest of three girls born to Marshall and Margaret Lively Harman. After a week of family and friends visiting with her at the Stagecoach Senior Living facility in Magnolia, Texas, she passed into the Heavenly Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Monday, May 1, 2023.
Marsha loved children and always had a desire to help others. Beginning in her late teens, she began working with the youth at church in the summer programs. In the early seventies she served at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer near downtown Houston as a co-head of household for the youth of the church community. Using her multiple degrees from Sam Houston State University and the University of Houston, where she received her Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology, Marsha continued to work with children and families to find avenues of hope and healing.
Dr. Harman was a retiree of Sam Houston State University where she served faithfully for years, chairing the Faculty Senate and Curriculum Committee, founding PACE to help faculty with teaching, overseeing the practicum experiences of master's and doctoral students, helping the university maintain SACS accreditation, and aiding the Psychology Department in obtaining APA accreditation for the doctoral program. She was a licensed psychologist who helped numerous children and their families in her private practice, served as a consultant to various local school districts, and held leadership positions in the Texas Association of School Psychologists (TASP). She was honored for her outstanding service by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, for her outstanding teaching by the College of Education, and for her outstanding contribution to education by the Texas Psychological Association. Most importantly, she left a lasting impression on her students. She will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues and will be remembered for her tremendous contributions to Sam Houston State University.
After retiring, with a desire to become more active in her local community, she left the Episcopal community of believers and became a member of First Baptist Church of Dodge, Texas where her family has worshiped for decades. In her later years she was unable to attend services in person. With the services being streamed over the internet, she watched and listened intently and sang along with the congregation from her home in Magnolia.
Marsha was preceded in death by her parents, Marshall and Margaret Lively Harman. She is survived by two sisters, Marie Elizabeth Harman Dyer and husband, William E. Dyer, of Bozeman, MT, and Martha Lynn Harman Renfro and husband, Billy P. Renfro of Magnolia TX; six nieces and nephews: Daniel Aaron Renfro of Magnolia, TX, Rachel Renee Renfro Clayden and husband, Ryan J. Clayden of Cypress, TX, and Heather Elaine Renfro Critton and husband, Rodrick T. Critton of The Woodlands, TX, William E. Dyer, Jr., and wife Tracey Quan of Boulder, Co. Laura Elizabeth Dyer, of Butte, MT, and Margaret Kathlyn Dyer Wallis (Meg), of Bozeman, MT, five great nieces and nephews, Henry Marshall Wallis and Colin James Wallis, of Bozeman, MT, and Ryleigh Mikayla Clayden and Rory London Clayden, of Cypress, TX., and Grace Quan Dyer of Boulder, Colorado.
Her Memorial Service is scheduled for Monday, May 22, 2023, at Dodge First Baptist Church in Dodge, TX at 10:30 o'clock in the morning.