On the morning of February 5, 2026 Norma Jean Harris flew away to God’s celestial shores where love, joy and peace never end. She is returning to her natural loving self, her final request after suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. Norma will be remembered for her loving, generous spirit, for being a champion for children’s welfare, for having Montana grit and for her passion for music, travel, love of the outdoors and spiritual nature. Most of all, Norma loved her grandchildren and regularly expressed her pride in them. Norma Jean Harris was born on August 14, 1942 to Agnes and Richard Harris in Anaconda, Montana. She was fond of saying, “I grew up with four brothers” as an explanation of being strong and enjoying sports. She attended Anaconda High School and was a proud member of the Rainbow Girls. She enjoyed playing volleyball and softball and umpired softball games in the summers. She attended the University of Montana and transferred to Montana State University where she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Science. She went on to receive an MSW from the University of Utah and a PhD in Social Welfare from Florida International University. She was the Director of Family Services in Montana for many years where she supervised the delivery, management and evaluation of welfare services. She was nationally recognized as a Child Welfare expert and advocate. She was the principal author of Guidelines for a Model of Protective Services for Abused and Neglected Children and Their Families and one of three authors of Child Welfare: Policies and Practices. She spent the last eighteen years of her career as the Director of the Social Research Institute at the University of Utah School of Social Work where she brought in abundant funding to train social workers in social welfare. What brought Norma the most joy in all of her work were the relationships she nurtured with her colleagues and students. She truly cared about the well-being of all those with whom she worked, and of those she impacted through her work. While at the University of Utah Norma was equally passionate about the travels she was able to take through the Alliance of Universities for Democracy. She thoroughly enjoyed her travels to Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Turkey, Croatia, Italy, China and South Korea. In retirement she enjoyed traveling with her dear friend Ruth McKane to India and Egypt. Her favorite place where her heart felt most full and at peace, was in the Big Sky Country at Georgetown Lake, Montana where her friends and family came to enjoy her and her little slice of heaven on earth, and where her beloved dogs Rusty, Dusty, Copper, Shadow and Stevie, ran freely amongst the wildflowers. Norma was preceded in death by her parents, her dearest Aunt Norma Dwyer and her brothers Richard and Ronald Harris. Norma is survived by her daughter Tina Cutone (Mike Dion), grandchildren Mikaila Cutone-Dion and Dylan Cutone-Dion, brother Robert Harris (Grace), brother Rod Harris (Shawn), numerous beloved nephews, nieces, cousins and dear friends including Farrina Coulam and sisters and brothers-in-law. Norma was always ready with a sincere compliment and her advice when friends or family were struggling was to “just put one foot in front of the other and keep showing up.” Donations to PreventChildAbuse.org would be greatly appreciated. Services will be held at a later date.