My grandmother, Grete Harris, who has died aged 103, lived a life of caring, activism and generous hospitality, underpinned by her Danish heritage and international experiences.
She was born Margrete Ravn in Iowa, the US, the third of 10 children of a Danish couple, Magdalene (nee Konstantin-Hansen), a nurse who descended from Martin Luther, and Johannes Ravn, a Lutheran priest who served Danish communities in the state.
The family returned to Denmark in 1919 and, for the following 10 years, lived in Fausing, central Jutland, east of Randers. In 1929, they moved to Østerløgum, a small village north of Ȧbenrå, where Grete attended the grammar school until the age of 16. She began nurse training in Copenhagen in 1940, as Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany, and worked at Bispebjerg hospital in the capital throughout the second world war, while contributing to the resistance, and helping Danish Jews escape to Sweden.
In 1945 Grete joined a group of Quakers assisting with postwar relief in Europe. While working in Holland, clearing flooded homes, she made many friends through the Friends Relief Service (FRS), including her future husband Ted Harris. After FRS training in London, Grete worked in Germany with displaced women, until 1947 when she and Ted married.
Grete and Ted moved to Westbury in Shropshire as farm managers in 1948, where Grete established a home and hosted many guests and farm students. Here she had two daughters, Kirsten and Helen. In 1951 the family went to South Africa to join former FRS colleagues at Adams, a multiracial college, where Ted became farm manager. Grete supported staff and students’ wives and children, built a new home, and had two more daughters, Elizabeth and Annamarie.
Tightening apartheid restrictions caused the closure of Adams in 1956, and the family relocated to Kenya, where Ted worked in community development. Grete raised their children, volunteered with a local women’s organisation, and frequently hosted guests.
Following Kenyan independence, they moved to Devizes in Wiltshire, where Grete volunteered in a variety of roles, and supported Ted in establishing the organisation that became Community First, which provides services to people in Wiltshire and Swindon. As part of a team, she ran a house for ex-offenders in Devizes, reflecting her belief in justice and rehabilitation.
Retirement to London in 1981 brought further activism through CND, including Greenham Common and a B&B, which Grete ran from her home to fundraise for Muswell Hill Quaker meeting house. Grete and Ted settled in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, in 1991. My grandmother (to me, “Mormor”, Danish for grandmother) will be remembered for her indefatigable commitment to Quakers, Amnesty, Campaign Against Arms Trade and the Liberal Democrats, and also for her hospitality, creativity, and beautiful cooking and gardens. Her letter-writing maintained friendships around the world and her weekly tea parties were a highlight until her 100th year.
Elizabeth died in 1996 and Ted in 2006. Grete is survived by Kirsten, Helen and Annie, 10 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.
