Brenda Harris
Roxana | Save
Brenda Joan (Brenda Jo) Harris, age 85 passed away, Friday, June 12, 2026, at her home in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her family by her side, after several years of declining health.
Brenda was born in DeSoto, Missouri on June 5, 1941, to Marjorie Helen (Wallick) LaPlant and Oscar Thomas LaPlant. At a young age, her parents relocated to Roxana, Illinois where she attended school and graduated in 1959 from Roxana High School.
Her young adult years were spent working in the St. Louis area for AG Edwards and Stiefel. It was there that she acquired numerous friends and became inspired by a lifelong love of music entertainers, Tina Turner and Rod Stewart.
She also worked for a time as a dispatcher at the Jerseyville Police Dept. Eventually, moving to Michigan to be close to her children, where her employment there also added to her list of friends.
In her retirement years, she has shared a home with her daughter, Stephanie (Harris) Ufer and husband Glen Ufer and enjoyed her nightly competition with her daughter watching Jeopardy. She was a whiz at crossword puzzles and loved mystery novels and true crime shows on television.
Her laughter could fill a room, and she enjoyed good food and music. However, her greatest love was for her family, two children, Stephanie and (Glen) Ufer and Christopher Harris and his partner Patty Van Gessel, two beautiful grandchildren (her pride and joy), Cayden Christian and Deklynn Rose Harris. Brenda’s loved ones include Libby and Paige Plummer and their mother Cheri, which she loved as her family.
Also surviving are a brother and sister-in-law, Thomas and Ellen LaPlant, of Alton IL, five nephews, Thomas Hanner (Kim) of Kentucky, Jeremy (Julie) LaPlant, Jeff LaPlant and Jake (Katie) LaPlant and Tim (Alicia) Sinclair all in the Metro East towns in Illinois, and many great nieces and nephews and two great-great nieces.
The family will have a private ceremony on a later date.
Memorials may be given to the dog rescue program of your choice. Brenda had a number of her 4-legged family members waiting for her at the Rainbow Bridge.
