Michele “Mickie” Harris
November 13, 1956 – January 1, 2026

Michele “Mickie” Harris passed away peacefully on January 1, 2026, after a second courageous battle with cancer. She was at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California, surrounded by family, and with her daughter by her side in the final moments.

Michele was very particular about her name, always insisting that Michele had only one “L,” and Mickie was “ie” not “ ey” like Mickey Mouse, a correction she made often and with humor. True to form, she even made sure those caring for her at Stanford corrected the spelling, giving everyone a laugh along the way.

Michele was born on November 13, 1956, in Scotia, California, to Prudence Versell Baker and Everett Harris. As a young child, she lived in Redding, California, before moving back to Bridgeville in the mid-1960s. She later graduated from Fortuna Union High School in 1974.

After high school, Michele attended DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona, at a time when the computer industry was just emerging. That experience later led her to Sunnyvale, California, where she became one of Apple’s earliest employees, working with a small team assembling early Apple computers during the company’s formative years. Michele later returned to Humboldt County, where she met Robert. Together, they had one daughter, Alexis.

Michele devoted many years to caring for others in the medical field, including at Eureka Internal Medicine and later Redwood Urgent Care in Eureka, California. She deeply valued her longtime boss, Steve Mielke, and the coworkers who became like family to her and her daughter. She loved her patients and the connections she made through her work. Out of respect and care, she often left messages in obituary sections when former patients passed, honoring their lives and the bonds she had formed.

Suntan Glen and the river were home to Michele.She preferred a quieter life and felt most at home along the river.

She was a member of Jobs’s Daughters, which, to her youngest brother Chip, appeared highly suspicious. From his point of view, it involved long dresses, secret meetings, and climbing stairs into a room above Sequoia Gas, leaving him convinced for years that she had joined a cult. He has never fully ruled it out.

Family relationships were central to Mickie’s life. She and her brother Scooter were known as the “Gerber Babies,” picture perfect and inseparable. As they grew older, they argued like the Hatfields and McCoys, loud and relentless, but always out of love. Their bond bent, but it never broke.

Michele was a fantastic cook, well known for feeding family, friends, and anyone who happened to be nearby. She was a loyal and enthusiastic supporter of family sporting events, rarely missing a game. Her presence was unmistakable, thanks in part to her legendary whistle. It echoed through river valleys and gymnasiums and cut through packed crowds like a train horn. Everyone could hear it .

She was also an exceptional swimmer, moving through the river like a dolphin, fast and effortless, impossible to keep up with. She taught her daughter and many of the kids of Suntan Glen how to swim. Many learned before the age of four to swim in deep water without floaters because of her love for water ,and the importance to know how to swim if living near a lake, river or pool . She taught everyone a life lesson in team work if things went wrong.

Michele loved music and movies and was a hippie at heart. Her youngest brother Chip would often call her from concerts just to let her hear the music through the phone, knowing she would understand without a word spoken.

She had a fondness for collecting socks, the brighter and more mismatched the better, and enjoyed collecting fossils along the river. She loved to dance and sing, even if she wasn’t especially good at it, which only made it more endearing to those who knew her best.

As a mother, Michele was deeply devoted and supportive. Many of her daughter’s friends even called her “ Mom” or “ Lexi’s Mom.” If there were an “above and beyond” in motherhood, Mickie met it every day . She believed it took a village to raise a child and raised her daughter largely on her own with the help of a network she formed in order to work and provide.

Michele was deeply loved and will be greatly missed. She will be remembered for her smile,  kindness, generosity, humor, heart, and especially, for being supportive and a great mother and role model.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Prudence Versell Baker and Everett Harris, along with other loved ones who went before her.

She is survived by her daughter, Alexis “Lexi” Harris (Ramer); her siblings Curtis “Scooter” Harris, Paige Harris (Asbury), and Marvin “Chip” Stewart; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and longtime friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date to honor both Michele and her mother, Prudence Versell Baker. Prudence passed just 7 months prior.

The family extends a sincere “ Thank you “ to the many care teams , physicians and doctors who cared for Michele with compassion and humor during her final journey.

A GoFundMe titled Honoring Michele Harris’ Life and Legacy has been established for those who wish to contribute toward Celebration of Life and final arrangements.

Mahalo and God Bless.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Mickie Harris’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.