Karen (Harris) Wall

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Karen Wall [send private message] and Adel Murphy [send private message]

Biography

Karen (Harris) Wall participated with NEWTS during the 2024 Connect-a-Thon.

Born as Karen Patrice Harris in Biloxi, Mississippi at Keesler Air Force Base on 22 August 1955, she was the youngest daughter of William Henry Harris and Geraldine Honeycutt Harris, and was the 3rd of 4 children.^{[1] [2]} Being a military family they never stayed in one location more than just a few years, Karen made her 1st move at only 5 weeks old. Her residences following Biloxi were - Minneapolis St Paul, Minnesota; Palo Alto, California; West Acton, Massachusetts; Rome, New York. Her father retired from the Air Force while they were living in New York, moving the family to Virginia Beach, Virginia; then to Monroe, Louisiana where Karen graduated in 1973 from Neville High School ^[1]

After High School Karen attended High Point College (Now University) in High Point North, Carolina where she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, and where she met her future husband Dennis Wall. Graduating in May of 1977, Karen received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Resources and Sociology. ^[1]

It was during my Freshman year at High Point College that I was introduced to Genealogy. Taking a short Winter class, I thought it would be easy credits. Who knew I'd catch a life-long bug. Over the next many years I pursued the interviews and letter writing tasks required for pre-computer collecting of data. Eventually moving everything to computer, the researching processes changed, but did not change the passion. I was 30+ years into my research, before I learned about documenting sources. It will probably take another 30 before that issue is resolved.^[3]

Dennis and Karen were married on 22 October 1977 in the Post Chapel at Fort Benning, Georgia ^[4] in a Military Ceremony held the weekend after Dennis received his commission in the US Army. ^[1]. They spent their first 2 days as Mister and Misses in the Bachelors Officers Quarters, not quite the luxury honeymoon one would anticipate as it was not designed for couples. It would be about 3 years before their travels would land them in Paris, France. At that time, Dennis found a handful of rice in his coat pocket, and therefore the couple declared Paris their 2nd Honeymoon. ^[1]

After marriage, the next 30 years took them to El Paso, Texas (outside Fort Bliss); Delmenhorst, Germany; Enterprise, Alabama (outside Fort Rucker); Clarksville, Tennessee (outside Fort Campbell, Kentucky) where both sons were born; back to Enterprise, Alabama; Yongsan Air Base, Seoul, South Korea; and then finally to Marietta, Georgia. ^[1]

Over the years Karen held a variety of part-time jobs, finally stumbling upon a job in Insurance where she worked for 18 years before retiring at age 65 from full-time work. After leaving Insurance, Karen continued to work part-time in her sons' business, while keeping busy with Grandchildren and Genealogy. ^[1]

Residence Information

OCT 1977 to JUN 1978 - El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA; While stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas^[1]

JUL 1978 to JUN 1981 - Delmenhorst, West Germany ^[1]

JUN 1981 to JUL 1982 - Enterprise, Coffee, Alabama, USA; While stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama^[1]

JUL 1982 AND JUL 1985 - Clarksville, Montgomery, Tennessee, USA; While stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.^[1]

JUL 1985 AND AUG 1990 - Enterprise, Coffee, Alabama, USA; While stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama.^[1]

AUG 1990 to AUG 1992 - Seoul, South Korea, Yongsan Air Base.^[1]

AUG 1992 - Temporarily in Stone Mountain, Georgia living with family while house hunting.^{[1] [5]}

SEPT 1992 to Present - Marietta, Cobb, Georgia, USA. Dennis and Karen moved to Georgia in August of 1992. They lived in an apartment for 4 months while waiting on new construction. The house was completed and occupied in December 1992.^[1]

Research Notes

This Bio is a work in progress. If you are reading this, please be patient with any errors as I learn how to format, and how best to present a Biography. Harris-13251 21:46, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14} First hand knowledge of Karen Harris
2. ↑ Birth Certificate. State of Mississippi. Department of Health Education and Welfare Public Health Service. State File # 123-55 36694 Registrar's # 24B2237-55 Certified Copy Obtained dated 15 December 1977 from Vital Statistics Jackson Mississippi. In personal possession of Karen.
3. ↑ Personal recollections recorded by Karen.
4. ↑ Marriage License. In Karen's personal possession.
5. ↑ Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings. Ancestry.com 2010 Birth date: 8/22/1955 birth place: Biloxi, Harrison, Mississippi, USA residence date: 1993 residence place: Marietta, GA Name: Karen Patrice Harris