Wendolyn Harris

Wendolyn “Wendy” Harris loved loud music, rescue animals and her children. Born in Key West, Florida on April 20, 1961, Wendy spent the majority of her childhood in Louisville, Kentucky. She relocated to Birmingham in the early 1980s but could still be found tearing up while singing along to My Old Kentucky Home on Derby Day.

Wendy spoke fondly of the myriad of jobs she held — crediting Godfather’s Pizza, where she worked as a server while pregnant, and its easily accessible pepperonis with the 11-pound birth weight of her daughter and only speaking ill of one McDonald’s manager who fired her for eating a single french fry as a teenager. Eventually, she settled into a successful career as a realtor. Equipped with an eye for unconventional beauty, she sold houses mostly in Southside and Avondale, areas often overlooked for the at-the-time more profitable suburbs. After closing on a house, she would buy her children the newest Barbie, video game or any other “special treat” she hand-picked.

Wendy married her husband, Scott, whom she referred to as “her honey,” in 1989. She was mother to five children, whom she called her greatest creations other than her six grandchildren, whom she often said she loved more than anything in the world.

She was a devoted HGTV watcher and gardener. She gave nicknames to every dog she met and called everyone “sweetie,” regardless of age or gender. Every person who encountered her was met with open arms, listening ears and a capacity for love wholly unbridled by judgment or unkindness.

Wendy had the rare ability of making all people feel at home around her and the even rarer ability of making all things a little more beautiful than they started. A devout Catholic, Wendy taught her family the importance of gentleness and forgiveness. She will be gravely missed by anyone who met her.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Neal (Joan) and Bonnie Broerman. She is survived by her husband, Scott; five children, Joshua, Brittany Burks (Travis), Nicholas, Kelsey and Shelby; six grandchildren, Carson, Trenton, Isabella, Leonardo, Nora and William; sister, Cynthia Hester (Bob); several nieces and nephews; and her dog, Dolly Belle, and cat, Daisy Mae.

A memorial Mass will be held at the Cathedral of St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in her honor be made to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.