Miriam Witmer Harnish, 99

June 30, 2014

Miriam Witmer Harnish, 99, passed into the loving arms of Jesus at Calvary Fellowship Homes on June 30, 2014.

Born into a family of seven girls, of whom she and Ruth Griffith were one of two sets of twins. Her other sisters were Alice Peifer, Esther Huber, Anna Stokes, Mabel Mellinger and Viola Mylin. Miriam and her sisters knew the meaning of hard work, as her parents, Jacob and Lizzie Burkhart Witmer, were farmers and raised cantaloupes and watermelons in Marticville. It was there that she met and married her husband, Amos K. Harnish, to whom she was wed for 65 years. She was the mother of two adopted sons, Jay Vernon and Edward, both living in Texas. She had seven grandchildren, and twenty-one great grandchildren, the object of her daily prayers.

A highlight of Miriam’s life was being a charter member of Calvary Church, where she and Amos were inspired to go into Christian ministry. She and her husband attended Practical Bible Training School in Binghamton, N.Y., after which the church commissioned Amos to be a pastor. For 43 years, they served together in six congregations in New York State and northern Pennsylvania. They spend their last years of ministry in the Williamsport area, where Miriam worked as a receptionist in the Williamsport Hospital. Miriam had her own ministry as a pastor’s wife and as the mother of two sons.

Upon retiring, Miriam and Amos moved to New Holland and eventually to a cottage at Calvary Fellowship Homes in Lancaster, where they continued to minister as volunteer visitors. Miriam was an excellent cook and loved to read, knit, crochet and write letters and send cards to her many friends and family, whom she loved dearly.

A Memorial Service for Miriam Harnish will be held at 11 AM on Friday, August 15, 2014 at Calvary Fellowship Homes in the Fellowship Hall, 502 Elizabeth Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601. Private interment was held in Willow Street Mennonite Cemetery.

Charles F. Snyder, Jr. Please omit flowers. Memorials may be made to the Benevolent Fund at Calvary Fellowship Homes, 502 Elizabeth Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601.