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FOCUS ON PHILANTHROPY
Rubie Monroe Harris
Over the course of her long life, Rubie Monroe Harris has worn many hats: all-American country girl, certified registered nurse anesthetist, traveler, Katrina survivor, and, for more than 20 years, voracious genealogist. The great-granddaughter of John T. Monroe, mayor of New Orleans from 1860-1862 (until the occupation of the city by Union forces) and again from 1866-1868, Harris is fiercely proud of her family tree. She has dedicated the past decade to preserving the Harris/Monroe legacy, a pursuit that has led her to memberships in the Daughters of the American Revolution, the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, the Order of the First Families of Mississippi, Friends of the Cabildo, and The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Society, a new organization that honors members who have included The Collection in their estate plans.
“I love the family I was born into,” she says. “We are salt-of-the-earth people, and I think they’d all be proud of me, because I’m proud of them.”
Harris grew up “in the cotton fields of north Mississippi!” she exclaims, referring to Clarksdale, the delta town known for its bountiful cash crops and blues history. Her father, Henri Harris, served as assistant postmaster for the county, and her mother, Aletha, was a homemaker and “sweet as cream—she was so warm and kind and good,” she recalls. As a little girl, Harris enjoyed an idyllic childhood, swimming and running to her heart’s content. Always an eager
student, she racked up extracurriculars: “I was head of the pep squad, twirling the batons,” she says. “I wrote for the student newspaper. I worked after school in the library, and as a cashier in [J. C.] Penney’s. I played on the basketball team. I was a Girl Scout. I took tap dance, ballet, and art. I was in the glee club. I was into everything in high school!”
After graduating from high school, she completed three years of nurse’s training and was offered a scholarship to study anesthesiology at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which was, at the time, one of the largest hospitals in the- United States. Harris’s “teacher’s pet” classroom habits helped set her apart—her bright red hair may have also helped, she says—and after finishing her studies she launched a successful health care career that lasted nearly 30 years. At present, she is an emeritus member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists with a bachelor of arts degree in health care administration.
“In the course of my career, I’ve worked all shifts possible and in several states,” she says. “Nights, weekends, holidays—everything.”
Harris was retired and living in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, when Hurricane Katrina made its approach across the Gulf of Mexico. She planned on riding out the storm, but was convinced to leave the day before the hurricane struck on August 29, 2005.
“I lost everything,” she says. “My house was a half-block from the beach. All I had left was a suitcase and a change of underwear and a radio.”
After staying in several places around Lafayette, Louisiana, she settled back in New Orleans but experienced a series of health problems. After recovering from several surgeries, her brush with Katrina and new lease on life renewed a passionate interest in exploring her roots. She became v._ II —-<ed in genealogical research tools, both on- and offline. She learned dial the was descended from the Munro JLri of Scotland; her ancestor Daniel T^-mo (ought in the Revolutionary Vij.'. and both he and his son, Daniel .:o Jr.. fought in the War of 1812.
Above sil, though, she is proud of John T. Monroe £	“	o>urage in facing
Admiral David Fatragm of the Union navy as it dosed is on x Orleans during the Civil war. Afer learning that the city’s defenses hsd failed, Monroe ordered that the LouisUiia state flag be flown over city hJl is defiance of the encroaching Union i“~. Harris is emphatic about .*--5	- skill and care
in preventing the uir uom bombardment and destruc*: ~ n is it fdl.
“I want people t3 know that he wasn’t cowardly,” she lays. “We never gave up. New OrleaiK U indebted to Mayor Monroe. He is die reason the French Quarter is still standing today.”
It is this passion that Harris brings to her involvement with THNOC and its Williams Society. Harris trusts The Collection to preserve her and her family’s legacy, she says. “There’s no better place in the city of New Orleans or the state of Louisiana.”
—Molly Reid
12 Volume XXX, Number 2 — Spring 2013