01/27/2026
On January 16, 2026, DOLA VIRGINIA HARRIS broke free of her earthly bonds to enter heaven. Among those there to greet her were her husband of 64 years, Ronald Cleon Harris; her mother, Margaret Anna Steinback Rookstool; her father, Henry Earl “Poppy“ Rookstool; and four siblings Irene Gutshall, Madeline Howard, Harvey Rookstool, and Glenna Daniels.
Left to cherish her memory here on Earth are daughters, Rita Eloise Hill (Tim) and Jo Ellen Perry (Steve) both of Fraziers, Bottom, W.Va., and Laura Marie Carroll (Dan) of Ooltewah, Tenn. Her absence will also be felt in the heart of her four remaining sisters: Evelyn Williams of Rainelle, W.Va.; Essie Mcgraw of Cincinnati, Oh.; Margaret Heckleman of Norway, Oh.; and Carolyn Jo Knapp of Alderson, W.Va.; her grandchildren, Michael Perry, Mark Perry, Felicia Johnson, and Cindy Sullivan; her great grandchildren: Thomas Lewis and Sophia Perry; Charlotte, Samuel, and Lenora Johnson; and by dear friends Allen and Melodi Bell, who were like children of her heart.
Dola was blessed to have been born into a Christian home to a mother who was a first-generation immigrant from Germany and a father who was a farmer and peddler. Dola remembered Poppy setting aside a time every evening for the family altar, a time of prayer and Bible reading. This practice helped set her on an early path to find Jesus and make Him her personal Savior. She spoke of how her eyes were opened to the scripture after her salvation as a child and how she voraciously wanted to read her Bible even at a young age. It was her life mission to let people know about her Savior, Jesus Christ, and how good He’d been to her through her life.
Dola’s early life was spent growing up on a farm in Lawn, W.Va., in a place affectionately named by Poppy as Hollywood Holler because of his eight lovely daughters. The middle child of nine, Dola learned hard work and responsibility at an early age. She told stories of rising early and completing chores before and after school. And then helping at neighboring farms to help support her struggling family. She also told of walking the mile out of the hollow every day to catch the bus for school, sometimes through deep snow. Later, she would work as maid, then is a cook at a 4-H, camp where she learned to make the world‘s best rolls.
Dola attended Concord College for two years. She started her career in a one room schoolhouse called Hurley School on Irish Mountain. She hiked the long trek through the woods every day no matter the weather, then straight up side of a mountain to the school. Two years later, an opportunity presented itself at the Patterson Creek schoolhouse. The Harris family lived nearby and offered to board her. It was here that she became friendly with Carol (Harris) Lockwood who would later introduce Dola to her brother, Dola’s future husband, Ronald when he was on leave from the Navy.
Dola and Ronald married while Ronald was in school at West Virginia Tech in Montgomery, W.Va. Times were hard. Meat, milk, and fruit were rare treats, but Dola never hesitated to add that the Lord had provided for them always, often through the generosity of family.
Dola faithfully attended church with her children, and stayed very involved as a Sunday school teacher, AWANA leader, and Bible school leader and director. Dola faithfully went on church visitation, both soul winning and to visit shut-ins. If there was a need at the church, she was there to fill it. She would remain an example to Ronald of Christian love and faithfulness throughout his life, raising their girls to follow her example. Dola prayed unwaveringly for the salvation of her husband. Those prayers were finally answered after 30 years. Her daughters firmly believe this was largely because of Dola’s steadfast, example and faithful service to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Once her daughters reached middle school, Dola begin to work again outside the home. Her pastor asked her to become the Administrator of a new Christian daycare/preschool. Dola went on to help him establish KinderKare in 1975, which is still operating today, 51 years later. When her husband‘s job took her to Southern West Virginia, she worked with her new pastor again and was instrumental in starting Laurel Valley Christian School in Oceana, W.Va. When they moved to Dover, she accepted a position at an existing Christian school and taught there until they returned to West Virginia, and she retired from Christian education.
Dola’s helping heart, led her to become a literacy volunteer for Putnam County, and she begin helping adult ESL students with reading and conversational English. She worked with students from many countries and even helped some prepare for and pass their citizenship tests!
In her younger years, Dola enjoyed golf. She loved playing Canasta with her friends, and she also enjoyed fishing trips to Canada, Lake Erie, and Alaska with great friends! Yearly vacations were enjoyed in the woods around the family camp on Anthony Creek. There she taught her children and grandchildren about trees and flowers native to West Virginia. She taught them to love swimming in a cold mountain creek, how to catch lightning bugs, and minnows and crawdads, and how to adventure in the woods and not be afraid. She loved all of God’s creation and instilled that love in her family. She loved nothing better than a walk in the woods, and she longed for that when she was no longer able to go.
Dola was an accomplished homemaker as well. The food she prepared was legendary, especially her rolls. She was a skilled seamstress and enjoyed many arts and crafts. She was an avid reader and learned how to do many of these crafts from reading. She utilized these skills in each new house making it feel like a home as it filled with delicious smells of her cooking.
Dola was extremely generous to everyone, especially her girls to whom she gave sacrificially, often doing without herself to provide for them. Her generosity continued beyond her death. Dola chose to donate her earthly body to the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine with the hope that this gift would help those who attend there make a difference in the lives of countless others. A celebration of her life will be Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 2:00 at Mt Zion Baptist Church in Fraziers Bottom, W.Va. A plaque noting her name alongside her husband Ronald’s has been added to the headstone of his parents at the Halidan Cemetery in Green Sulphur Springs, Summers County, W.Va. Their ashes will be added there.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Women’s Choice PRC, P.O. Box 11687, Charleston, WV 25339 or to Crossroads Pregnancy Care Center, 2010 Quarrier St., Charleston, West Virginia 25339. Johnson Tiller Funeral Home, Wayne, W.Va., is assisting the family.
