LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Kathleen Anne Harness of Witter Springs passed away Aug. 2, 2021, in Santa Rosa, California as a consequence of Alzheimer's disease.   

She and her twin brother Jim were born Aug. 26, 1950, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to LeRoy Russell Erickson and Agnes Mary Farley.   

In 1952 she moved with her family to the Farley family ranch near Tomales in western Marin County. 

She was a third generation graduate of Tomales High School, attended Santa Rosa Junior College, then transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where she met her future husband Steve Harness while living at Stebbins Hall, a house in the Berkeley Students Cooperative. 

She and Steve were married on Sept. 8, 1973, in Berkeley. 

Kathleen worked for the Veterans Administration in Oakland and in Martinez. She finished her AA degree at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill.   

The couple moved to Upper Lake in 1978 when Steve was employed as a teacher at Upper Lake High School.

Kathleen worked as a medical transcriber for Dr. Duane Bradley until the birth of their daughter Erin in 1982.   

When Erin and son Kevin were attending Upper Lake Elementary School, Kathleen became a volunteer aide, and was later hired as the English Language Learner aide at the school, serving there until 2010.   

During this time she completed her BA degree in communications at Sonoma State University in 2000.

Kathy was an attender of the Lake County Friends Worship Group and a member of the Lake County Democratic Club and Sweet Adelines. She was a talented cartoonist and used this skill extensively in teaching her students to learn English.   

Kathy had a firm faith in the goodness of God. She played the piano well, loved to sing and could still hum the tunes of hymns long after she lost the ability to speak the words.   

Kathy was interested in politics and applied her quirky sense of humor, when she marched in the 2008 Clearlake Independence Day parade in an entirely homemade Statue of Liberty costume.

Kathleen is survived by her husband, Steve Harness of Witter Springs; her brothers, Lee (Janeann) Erickson of Valley Ford, James (Lynn) Erickson of Burney and Daniel (Fran) Erickson of Tomales; sister, Carol (Craig) Maxey of Parker, Colorado; daughter, Erin of Santa Rosa; and    son, Kevin of Mountain View.   

Kathleen's remains have been donated to the University of California, San Francisco, Medical School for research and education. No formal memorial services have been planned.