Rev. Amelia M. Harris

Obituary
Rev. Amelia M. West was born on March 1, 1951, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The second of six children born to Cornelius and Bertha C. West, both who have already preceded her in heaven.  Amelia attended the Pittsburgh Public School System – graduating from Fifth Avenue High School in 1969.  Upon graduation, she started working for the Bell of Pennsylvania Telephone system now known as Verizon.
Amelia worked her entire career at Verizon – it was here she started attending Rodman Street Baptist Church. During this time she gave her life to the Lord and started to serve Him.  She started on the usher board and transitioned to the choir.  She felt a higher calling and started serving in other capacities.  While serving the Lord, her future husband (Pastor Delbert Harris) found a good thing and later married her on December 4, 1999.
Her loyalty and service to God propelled her to not only get licensed as a minister, but in 2002 she was the first female to be ordained in St. John Baptist Church of Wilmerding, PA, the church that Pastor Harris and she oversaw.  She was a prominent member of many auxiliaries – Women in Power, Sista Sister, Silver Cord, African American Women’s Speakers Bureau and The Allegheny Union Baptist Association Minister’s Wive’s and Widows.
In 2010, Amelia was diagnosed with her first bout with breast cancer.   She fought for a year and was victorious.   After two years she was again told that she had the same debilitating disease.   She won this fight too.   Her family was devastated to hear that she was reported a third time has had cancer.   But her faith still kept her on the battlefield and victorious.  It was in 2017 that Amelia was determined that cancer was not going to be her legacy, but the doctors told her then that the cancer was starting to spread throughout her body.   She fought victoriously numerous attacks on her body and on May 16, 2018, Amelia took her final breath.   Cancer thinks it won, but God decided that her fight against this disease was enough.   He called her home, and she is now in heaven praising God.  She is also there trying to help God prepare a place for her husband; her children and grandchildren – since she is such an organizing person and she knows just what they all like.
Amelia leaves to honor her legacy – Husband Pastor Delbert Harris, 4 Adult aged Children: Theresa Buchanan (Buck); Trina West, Minister LaMont Michael West, and Kameisha West. Four Grandchildren: JaVonna Glover, Jonae Sheffey, Tyler West, and Jada Sheffey. 2 Great-grandchildren: Aaron Glover and Aiden Glover.
Siblings: Sandra (Leon) Jefferson; Thomas (Yvette) West, Marshall West and two who have proceeded her in glory – Kenneth West and Rose West.
There are countless nieces, nephews, spiritual children, and truly too many friends to try and list.
I know she is amazed at how many people are here to celebrate her during this home going service.

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