Alta Virginia Courtney was born on January 9, 1932 in Caroline County, Virginia. After prolonged health challenges, and brief hospice care at home, she peacefully departed this life on Friday, June 2, 2023.

She was the 10th child of 16 children. Her late father, Willie Courtney, had eight children in his first marriage and eight more children with his second wife, Bessie. Alta's family affectionately called her Toe.

She attended Union High School and married her high school sweet heart, Chisholm Boxley. They had a daughter, Jacqueline.

While Alta grew up on a farm, she did not enjoy farm life. When her marriage ended, she moved to Philadelphia to be near her older sister, Emma. There she met and married Jacob Harris. They had two daughters, Shelley and Sharon.

Alta was shy and quiet. She stayed home, away from the limelight, and tended to her family and home. She didn't like confrontation so she rarely spoke up to defend herself. Most people didn't see her feisty side but she told her children how she felt.

She was fiercely independent. She took pride in maintaining her home and garden. As she aged, she experienced mobility issues. It was difficult to manage the house but she was determined to keep doing things herself.

Her greatest vice was chocolate. She loved chocolate and made it a point to tell everyone in the family. In response, the family kept her well-supplied with boxes of chocolate. Her doctors wanted to ween her off the diabetes medication but it required a diet change. Not eating chocolate was not an option. She said at her age, "I should be able to eat whatever I want", and she did. Mom lived life on her terms.

Alta loved her family and did everything she could to help all of her children. She said that when she was in the country, she didn't have much to give. She did the best she could with what she had. Later in life, she was able to do more.

When her oldest daughter needed money, she sent her what she could afford. When her middle child bought a house that needed lots of repairs, she worked tirelessly with her daughter to remove wallpaper and paint each room. When her youngest child started a family, she cared for the grandkids as if they were her own children. While she never had a son, she embraced her grandson as if he was her son. He always called her mom and she never corrected him. In pre-school, he finally learned that she was his grandmother. She raised her twin granddaughters with just as much love.

She loved to shop and find bargains. She especially loved holiday shopping and finding special gifts for everyone. As a homemaker, she loved her home and took pride in decorating it and hosting holiday meals. She was very particular about her food and wanted it to be perfect. To her, there was a right way to cook and a wrong way. If you didn't prepare the food her way, it was wrong, wrong, wrong, and she made sure her children knew it.

As the queen of chocolate, anyone who visited was invited to share candy with her. She kept a candy dish filled with everyone's favorite chocolate. Her family will certainly miss the Sunday dinners, family celebrations, and holiday meals. She always served everyone's favorite dish or snack and made each person feel special.

Alta was preceded in death by her husband, Jacob Harris. She leaves many cherished memories to her three daughters, Jackie, Shelley, and Sharon; six grandchildren: Abdullah, Aishah, Corey (Rosemarie), Brandon (Aliyah), Breanna (Amin), and Brittany; and great-grandchildren: Jackie (Antonio), Jeremiah, Chloe, Bryce, Morgan, Micah; and great-great-grandchildren: Alayah, Jayden. She is survived by her remaining siblings: Blanche, Vernell, Doris, and Donald, and a host of other beloved relatives, friends and neighbors.

Lovingly submitted by the Family