Faye Annette (Gary) Harris

Faye Annette Gary

Distinguished scholar, tenured professor and author passes away at 84.

On an early June day in 1941, a beautiful baby girl was born into the William Primus Gary and Lee Colden families in Ocala. Her parents were Homer Fred and Ollie Colden Gary. She was named Faye Annette.

Over time, Faye became the second among the family’s five children: Bonita June, Faye Annette, Gladys Ann, Ollie Belle and Homer Alfred. The five siblings who grew up together on the family farm and were linked together for seven decades. Faye passed away March 1 at the age of 84.

Always charismatic, engaging, outgoing, intelligent and brave, Faye began her journey toward distinction on Gary Farms. She matriculated at Howard Academy in Ocala and graduated from Howard High School. She was recognized for her demonstrated academic, intellectual and leadership abilities.

Faye’s first trip outside the United States was to Cuba on a class trip when she was a student at Howard Academy. So began a journey of learning, teaching and understanding that lasted her lifetime.  She travelled to countries on all of the continents, save Antarctica. She journeyed to Africa on several occasions to give professional presentations on various aspects of nursing and mental health.

After graduating from Howard Academy in 1958, she entered Florida A & M University (FAMU), earning a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. At FAMU, she was voted the coveted titles “Miss Junior Attendant” in 1960-61 and “Miss FAMU” in 1961-62 and reigned over FAMU’s signature Orange Blossom Classic in 1961 in Miami.

Faye was an active member of the Student Nurses Association, College Honor Society, Women’s Congress, Student Government Association, NAACP and YWCA, and participated in civil rights activities, including student-led protests against discrimination in Tallahassee. She joined FAMU’s Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Not satisfied with an entry-level degree in nursing, she received a master's degree from St. Xavier University in Chicago in 1966. She was a student of St. Xavier’s first graduate degree program in psychiatric nursing. She was the first in her class to graduate, the first to get research published and the first to present research and clinical data at a national scientific conference.  Later, she continued her quest for education and received an Ed.D. from the University of Florida.

Faye practiced her craft in Syracuse, NY. Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, San Francisco, CA, and central Florida. She served as co-director of the rehabilitation and work evaluation program at Santa Fe Community College from 1969 to 1972.  She joined the faculty of the School of Nursing, University of Florida, and moved up the ranks to tenured professor. She was an American Council of Education Fellow and was mentored by Father Timothey S. Healy, S.J., then president of Georgetown University, in 1984. 

After more than 20 years at UF, she received a distinguished appointment as the Medical Mutual of Ohio Kent W. Clapp Chair and Professor of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and served in that capacity for over 20 years until her untimely death.

At CWRU, Faye became the founding director of the Provost Scholars program and mentored many inner-city students in allied health fields and nursing science.

According to a post on the Case Western Reserve University website, when the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) honored her as a Living Legend in 2024, Faye urged the audience to share her approach: “Look to the horizon to see what’s not there, what could be there and how you could make a difference.”

At the event, she was celebrated by colleagues and family, including her two granddaughters.

Faye was a leading research scholar. She authored or co-authored several books and more than 175 scholarly articles and papers. She received c. 24 million in external funding. Her 2022 co-authored book, “A Population Health Approach to Health Disparities for Nurses: Care of Vulnerable Populations,” received the second-place award from the American Journal of Nursing. Her textbook, “Psychiatric Nursing,” received the Book of the Year Award and national recognition as one of the best books of the year in nursing science and education.

Faye was a W.K. Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellow (1987-1990), a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), an award-winning member of the American Nurses Association, the National Black Nurses Association and, in 1996, received the National Honorary Human Rights Award from St. Xavier.

During her career, she worked extensively with the Minority Fellowship Program at the National Institute of Health’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, serving as executive consultant for the program housed at the American Nursing Association. She has been invited to serve as a health care consultant for ministries of health in countries on six different continents.

Throughout her life, Faye was active in the church. She was a faithful member of Mt. Zion AME in Ocala. She taught Sunday School at Mt. Zion and later became Superintendent of Sunday School. In Ohio, she regularly attended Plymouth Church UCC in Shaker Heights.

An outstanding and effective leader, distinguished scholar and great American, Faye raised four sons: Michael, Jonathan, William and Benjamin, and thoroughly enjoyed her two granddaughters, Nia and Norah-Faye. She is survived by her three sisters, one brother, sister-in-law and brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces, grandnieces, grandnephews, cousins and dear colleagues around the world.

Public viewing will be on Friday March 20,2026 from 12 noon to 5pm at Clark Funeral Home 434 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Av, Ocala, Florida 34475

A funeral service will begin at 10 a.m.  on Saturday , March 21 at Mt. Zion AME Church at 623 S. Magnolia Ave., Ocala.

In 2013, with the support of former Provost William “Bud” Baeslack, Faye established the Provost Scholars Program, a partnership between East Cleveland City Schools and Case Western Reserve to create opportunities for the city’s students to become successful undergraduates at the university. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the program. To learn more, go to case.edu/provostscholars or mail donations to Provost Scholars Program, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44106-4904.

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