Velma Jane (Morton) Harrah was born January 25, 1934, to Bert and Minta Jane Morton on the Morton Farm on Morton Road in Houston, MO. She was the youngest of six siblings who had gone to school not knowing she was on the way and found her in their mother’s arms when they got home. They were told she had been found on a stump in the holler from the house.
Velma’s dad passed away when she was three years old from injuries sustained lifting on a wagon. Bert prophesied on his deathbed the course that each of his children would take in life: one would become a preacher, one would be a builder, one would be the fixer (and the ornery one!), one would be the pillar and prayer warrior of the family, one would be the shepherd of animals she loved, and Velma Jane would be the fisher of men. In particular, he prophesied that she would be the first to be saved at a young age (13) and would lead by example her siblings to Christ. And so, it was. She often told the account of her taking her dolls to the holler, sitting them on a stump, and preaching to them! (Yes, girls her age still played with dolls back then!) She and Minta lived in the “old house” with no running water, or a well for that matter, well up into her teenage years, but the one thing they never lacked was love.
Velma met and soon married Richard (Rick) L. Harrah through the agency of meeting because Rick’s brother had married Velma’s sister. Rick had to promise Minta that Velma would finish her senior year of high school after being wedded. And so, it was. Rick enlisted in the Army and was sent to the Atomic Proving Grounds at Camp Desert Rock, NV. He moved her to Sonoma, CA, after graduation to live with his parents while he served. To their union were born four sons: Richard Alan, Michael David, Paul Joseph, and Steven Mark. They actively served in their churches in Sonoma and then in Houston, MO, when they moved back 20 years to the day in 1974. They were Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, deacon and deaconess, and most of all lovers of Jesus. You might not have agreed with the standard they strived for, but you can’t deny the results thereof. They were married one day shy of 61 years when Rick passed.
Velma was a homemaker, working outside the home very sparingly until the boys were grown, at which point she worked for Walmart. She worked there 20+ years (when they still had profit sharing!). She stayed in the home she and Rick built with their own hands-on property Minta had left as an inheritance for all her children until selling the house to her granddaughter and moving in with one of her sons two years ago. She was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, confidant, counselor, prayer warrior, spiritual leader, and most of all child of the King of the universe. Her life was well lived, her legacy is set, her example is before us, her reward is sure, her love is ever present in our hearts, and her directive is for all of us to know the Lord and join her in Heaven one day. She will be missed for now but will be waiting for us there.
Velma was preceded in death by her father, Bert C. Morton; her mother, Minta J. (Sticklin) Morton; her sisters, Gracie Mae Uber and Fern (Harrah) Dunham; her brothers, Ervin, Ray, and Jay Dee; her husband of 60 years, 364 days, Richard L. Harrah; her grandson, Christopher A. Harrah; many aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews; and a gaggle of dachshunds. She is survived by her sons, Richard (Ricky) A. Harrah and wife Xiomara of Miami, FL; Michael D. Harrah and wife Kathy of Rocky Mount, MO; Paul J. Harrah and wife Dana of Rolla, MO; and Steven M. Harrah of Rolla, MO. She is also survived by 9 grandchildren and their families, 16 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
