Judy Harris has been named the 2004 Regional Hospice Volunteer of the year.

Judy Harris has been working as a hospice volunteer since 2001. And after giving more than 250 hours of her time to terminally ill patients, she was awarded the Home Volunteer of the year for Regional Hospice 2004.

“I was very honored to receive the award,” Harris said. “The recognition banquet was on Oct. 19, but unfortunately we had planned a trip out of town for that time and I couldn’t be there. Sheila Chapman kept trying to get me to reschedule so I could come to the banquet, but she didn’t want to tell me why. I got my award later.”

A former math teacher at Gaffney High School and a native of Gaffney, Harris visits terminally ill patients in their homes and also does work to help their families cope with their situations.

“I do the home visitation, of course, but there’s actually a range of things I do for the patients and their families,” Harris said. “I sit with some patients, call to check up on them or run errands for them. Sometimes I pick up things at the store and I have just sat with someone to give them company. You have to do a lot more for patients that don’t have much support at home.”

Harris began volunteering after watching the way terminal illness affected families struck by it at her church.

“At Lavonia Baptist, where I go to church, we have a lot of rural families,” she said. “I saw a real need for help as we have people in our church who have a difficult time making it back and forth to the hospital. Once they reach the end of their life, I knew they needed to find a way for them to be able to stay at home, with their loved ones. Hospice allowed me to provide that service for them. I also volunteer time delivering meals for Meals on Wheels.”

Harris is the wife of Henry Harris, a produce manager at a local grocer. They have one son, Vance, who is a student at The University of South Carolina Upstate. Spending time with her own family, Harris said, helps her to realize the importance of quality time for the patients she sees and their relatives.

“Even after the patients expire, we try to keep in contact with the families for up to 12 months,” she said. “I am just in awe at some of the care these people have to give to their loved ones. I make no sacrifices compared to what some of them go through.”

Harris is still baffled by how she won the award.

“I really don’t know why I won it,” she said. “I think, really, it is just the willingness to go out and take the time with a person. It is so hard to find volunteers. The medical help is very valuable, but to know that someone is willing to give of their time, is extraordinary.”