Madge Harrah’s novels don’t waste time. “Honey Girl,” “Comet Luck” and “No Escape” are speedy and thrilling, but full of warmth and empathy.
In life, Harrah was as tough and compassionate as her creations.
“She didn’t mince words,” husband Larry Harrah said. “But she had something good to say about everyone. She made friends amazingly well.”
Harrah died of a stroke on Saturday. She was 80 years old.
Born Madge Fisher on May 11, 1931, in Lamar, Mo., her father’s job took her family from town to town across the state. When she was 14, her family arrived in Golden City, where she met Larry Harrah.
When he first saw her, he said, “I guess I knew she was for me,” he said. “I don’t know. She was wonderful.”
The couple went their separate ways after high school, but she transferred to the University of Missouri to be with him after a year. They married in 1952. Larry Harrah was called up by the Air Force in 1957 and they moved to a base in Ohio.
There, Harrah took screenwriting lessons from Rod Serling of “The Twilight Zone.” She had quick success in play writing competitions, and began writing novels for adults and young adults.
Larry Harrah took a job with Sandia National Laboratories in 1966. “She often told me that when we drove through the canyon (east of the city) for the first time, she knew she was home,” Larry Harrah said.
They lived here since, and Harrah wasted no time involving herself in church and a circle of female writers called the Mavericks, among whom was novelist Paula Paul.
“I was really impressed with her,” Paul said. “She was so smart.”
The two were fast friends, and would collaborate on a few plays, mostly historical dramas. In 1983, Harrah won first place in an international radio drama competition for “The Prize,” which was produced by NBC Radio that year.
Harrah was also extremely active in her church, said Didi Acosta, fellow member of New Life Presbyterian.
Not only did she write for the national magazine Guideposts, Harrah organized her own church’s Advent book, made of submitted memories and devotionals from church members. Without the aid of computer software, Acosta said, Harrah would retype every entry and use her own artwork to illustrate.
She was also a beloved Sunday school teacher, Acosta said. “There was never a kid in Sunday school who didn’t feel – not just tolerated, not just accepted – but welcomed and loved.”
Anyone who met Madge Harrah would have been struck by her fashion: She wore bright colors that, to Paul, didn’t always seem to match.
Larry Harrah said his wife was fond of sailor hats – she had a few with buckles, but she always wore them with the brim down.
“It was just her personality,” Paul said. “She pulled it off.”
When Paul was ill from breast cancer treatment, Harrah organized fellow writers and a group from Paul’s church to make Paul’s dinner every night.
For another friend suffering from lymphedema, a swelling in the arms or legs, Paul said Harrah helped alter the woman’s sleeves so she could still wear her clothes.
Asked for one thing he wanted the world to know about his wife, Larry Harrah said, “I think I can only say she was very much loved by many people,” his voice trembled, “and certainly by me.”
Harrah is survived by her husband, Larry, her children Eric and Meghan, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services for Madge Harrah are 11 a.m. today at New Life Presbyterian Church, 5540 Eubank NE.
Award-Winning Writer Known for Her Compassion, Intellect
Madge Harrah
— This article appeared on page C3 of the Albuquerque Journal
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at mandazola@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3881
