Harris, Jean (Jean Struven)

Jean Struven was born in Chicago, IL, in 1923. She earned an A.B. from Smith College in 1945 and married James Harris in 1946. They had two sons, David and James, Jr. From 1947-50 and 1953- 66 Harris taught at a variety of primary and secondary levels at the Grosse Point (MI) Country Day School. In 1965, Harris completed her M.Ed. from [?] and divorced her husband. She moved to Chestnut Hill, PA, where she served as director of the Middle School at the Springside School from 1966-71. In 1966 she met and began an affair with Dr. Herman Tarnower. In 1971 she became headmistress of the Thomas School in Rowayton, CT and in 1976, Headmistress, Madeira School, McLean, VA. Harris was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1980 death of Herman Tarnower and incarcerated in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, N.Y., 1981-93. While in prison, she worked in the Children's Center, and wrote Stranger in Two Worlds (1986), They Always Call Us Ladies (1988), and Marking Time (1991) as well as a number of articles and unpublished manuscripts about women in prison. In 1986 she helped establish the Children of Bedford Fund, which pays school tuition for children whose mother's are incarcerated. After her release from prison Mrs. Harris worked for the Children of Bedford Fund and continued to write. Jean Harris died on December 23, 2012.

From the guide to the Jean Struven Harris Papers MS 184., 1973-2005 (bulk 1980-1993), (Sophia Smith Collection)