Mabelene Gwyn Harris, matriarch of the Harris Leather & Silverworks family in North Carolina, passed away on Friday, April 2, at Pruitt Health in Elkin. She was 81.

Born in Patrick County, North Carolina, Mabelene started tooling leather belts and purses in the 1960s in North Carolina. She took her handiwork along when her husband, Ralph, and sons, Phil and Eddie went to open horse shows around home. Mabelene’s handiwork soon became popular with the horse show crowd that they had a hard time keeping up with orders. By 1978, Ralph and Mabelene had hand-tooled and dyed leather show halter orders coming in too, and the couple began an assembly line with Mabelene doing the tooling and Ralph providing the silver. That year, Ralph quit his job at the telephone company to jump full time into the business that sets the standard for custom saddles and silver. 

She is survived by her husband, Ralph D. Harris; two sons and daughters-in law, Phil and Phyllis Harris, Eddie and Robbin Harris; two grandsons, Preston and Mikayla Harris, Stanton and Kimberly Harris; two granddaughters, Mary Gwyn Harris and Alex Ratley, Victoria and Brandon Cox; two great-grandsons, Bennett Harris and Graham Harris; sister, Frances Sumner; several nieces and nephews.

Graveside services were held on Monday, April 5, in the cemetery of of Mountain Park Baptist Church with the Rev. Tim Henderson officiating. The family has requested memorials be made to Mountain Park Baptist Church, 325 Mtn. Park Rd. State Road, NC 28676.