Mattie Belle Montgomery-Harris
March 28, 1926 – March 28, 2026
The Foundation of a Century
One hundred years ago, in Bainbridge, Georgia, a life began that would become a sanctuary for so many others. Mattie Belle Montgomery, daughter of Oscar and Mattie, was born into a world of transition, but she became a woman of unshakable stability. From her 1944 graduation at Union Normal High School to her 52-year marriage to Ezell Harris Sr., Mattie lived with a clarity of purpose that defined her faithful Christian journey.
A Sheltered Life in the Secret Place
If you visited Mattie in Rochester, you likely found her doing two things: tending to her family and tending to her faith. Every single day, without fail, Mattie opened her Bible to Psalm 91. She lived those verses. When she moved her family from Orlando to Rochester in 1953, she dwelt in the secret place of the Most High. Through her years at Birdseye Canning Factory, General Motors and her decades raising nine children and numerous grandchildren, she walked with the assurance that no evil shall befall thee. She was the "shield and buckler" for her family, providing a home that felt like the very shadow of the Almighty.
The Sweetest Ministry
Mattie’s hands were never idle. They were hands that worked the line at the factory, hands that served as Church Secretary and Missionary President, and hands that baked the best sweet potato pie you would ever taste. That pie was her signature—a golden, spiced gift that represented her soul. To eat a slice of Mattie’s pie was to know her kindness. It was how she "clothed the naked and fed the hungry," going far beyond the call of duty for anyone in an emergency. She didn't just preach the Gospel; she served it on a dessert plate.
A Legacy of Long Life
Psalm 91 concludes with the promise: "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation." While Mattie fell asleep in death on October 15, 2003, today we celebrate the full 100-year cycle of her influence. As a devout servant of the LORD, she taught us how to pray. As a mother and grandmother, by her exemplary example she taught us how to love. And as a friend, she taught us that there is no problem so big that a little faith and a slice of pie can't help you through.
Praising God for the 100th Anniversary of Mother Mattie’s Birth.
Mattie was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and a friend. But more importantly, she walked in the footsteps of Christ Jesus. She was also a compassionate caregiver who went far beyond the call of duty. If it was feeding you, clothing you, providing you a place to stay or helping you out in an emergency, Mattie's kindness and generosity knew no end. She was truly one of the most beautiful individuals that a person could ever meet.
So in this centennial tribute of our mother’s birth, we give all the praise, glory, and honor to our Heavenly Father.
That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth. -Psalms 83:18
We know that if we are to see our sweet mother again, we must do as she did by faithfully walking in the footsteps of her Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. -John 3:16
(28) Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice (29) and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment. -John 5:28, 29
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