Leora Fern Harriff Damgaard, age 91, of Witts Springs, AR, died unexpectedly on April 30, 2023, in her home. Born in 1931 to George and Rena (born Oppelt) Harriff in Brookville, PA, she was a faithful member of Witts Springs Bible Church, where she taught Sunday School for many years.

She attended Pilgrim Bible College in Kernersville, NC, and Harding Bible College in Searcy, AR. With degrees in education from Wayne State University and the University of Central Arkansas, she served the Witts Springs Public School for 15 years, retiring in 1992.

Through a friend at Harding, she was introduced to the Boston Mountains around Witts Springs and immediately fell in love. She sold her electric guitar in order to buy a piece of land, which she would return to with her husband and children to start a life of homesteading. She will be remembered as an avid reader and birder and was best known for her gardening skills and long prayer list.

Survivors include her husband of nearly 60 years, Erling, and their beloved Kitty; sons Gene Damgaard of Oldfield, MO, Ben Damgaard and his wife Jennifer of Conway, AR; and sisters Lois Wolfe of Brooklyn, MI, Doris Thessfield of Brookville, PA, Lillian Oliveira (and her husband Tony) of St. Petersburg, FL, and sister-in-law Pat Harriff of Ypsilanti, MI, as well as many nieces and nephews.

She was buried at the Witts Springs Cemetery on the day of her death in a loving ceremony attended by family, friends, neighbors, and her church community. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday, just as she would have wanted.