Memorials › Zola McDaniel Harness

Zola McDaniel Harness

17 Jul 1925 – 7 Mar 1989

Birth17 Jul 1925
Death7 Mar 1989
CemeteryLakeview Cemetery and Mausoleum
Wichita , Sedgwick County , Kansas , USA
Added byanna white on 17 Jul 2010
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55075067

Bio

Zola Harness (McDaniel) was a daughter William and Ethel McDaniel, from Arkansas. She grew up in the hills of Arkansas during the depression, and helped raise her seven brothers and sisters. She was known as a strong woman, with thick dark hair and a beautiful face. Her family lived a very meager life, and were sustained by crops that they gathered rather than store bought groceries. Chickens, cattle and crops were her family's main sources of income. She attended a one-room school house with other children, and walking was her only form of transportation, although sometimes there was no money for shoes. Zola never attended school past the eighth grade because the nearest high school was a long journey, and the family needed the kids to help work to survive. She attended a small church tucked away in the hillside in the small town of Thola, Arkansas, where she was raised on Christian beliefs and values that were a part of nearly everyone's life at that time in American history. She enjoyed fishing, but perhaps never learned to swim. She enjoyed being around friends and family, and was a great cook. She was somewhat shy, but also witty and had a great sense of humor. Zola was always known as the jokester. She loved practical jokes, and was often photographed laughing or making someone else laugh. There was hardly a serious moment with her, and those around her loved the warmth she brought into their lives. In her early twenties, she married Lester Bartley Harness in approximately 1945. These two had grown up together and knew each other their whole lives. They went to school and church together, and their families were very close. Lester and Zola gathered cotton and other crops together, and Lester would tell you that he had to work extra hard to keep up with her; it would be safe to say that she was close to as strong as he was, and could pick cotton faster and carry a bigger bag than he could. Recalling when the couple would joke and horse around, Lester would say that he had to use all his might to wrestle with her, or she would pin him to the ground. Their loving relationship carried on for a number of years, and then they decided to adopt a child. Since she could not have children, in 1959 Lester and Zola adopted Charlotte their daughter, who was their only child. Zola enjoyed bowling, and often took Charlotte with her to the bowling alley after school. Charlotte, Zola and Lester began their family in Arkansas, and eventually moved to Wichita, KS, where Charlotte attended South East High School, and eventually got her Master's degree in Nursing from Wichita State University. Zola was very encouraging of her daughter's achievements, and took great pride in the education of her daughter, since she had not had that opportunity herself. She worked in an aircraft instrument shop for several years, repairing and assembling airplane parts and eventually retired from there. In 1987, Charlotte and her husband Thane White had Zola's first grand daughter, Anna Marie White. Zola could not keep her hands off of Anna, and Thane would say " you had to pry Anna out of her hands with a krobar" when it was time for them to pick her up when grandma Zola watched her. In 1989 Zola suffered a sudden brain anyeurism and passed on to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She is deeply missed and greatly remembered by all who were a part of her life for her sense of humor, her strength through adversity, and her warm heart.

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