Girl Scout Alum Lois “Lark” Harris became an Internet sensation in 2014 when she became well known nationally as the Girl Scout with the amazing cape of many patches. Sadly, she passed away in 2018 at the age of 90 after a valiant fight with pancreatic cancer. In January 2020, Lois’ son Caleb and his wife Lynne Scott, a former Girl Scout and Curved Bar recipient, brought her cape to Waltham, MA, where it will be preserved at the Girl Scout Museum at Cedar Hill.

Lois “Lark” Harris with Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts girl delegates at G.I.R.L. 2017 in Columbus, OH.

Lois shared with Girl Scouts of the USA in 2017, “I have a cape with all my patches on it that hangs down as far as my knees, and it’s made of the same material Girl Scout uniforms were made of in the seventies. And I don’t just collect patches; I’ve earned every single one. Everything on that cape represents the places I’ve gone and the things I’ve done in scouting.”

Lois “Lark” Harris and her legendary Girl Scout cape.

The legacy of the person behind the cape is one of dedication to the mission and the joy of making the world a better place. A Girl Scout for 75 years, Lois’ involvement started with her experience as a girl member in St. Paul, MN. In Lexington, MA she was a long-time troop leader, national and regional delegate, trainer and Neighborhood Chair. She went to Canada with troops, attended Wyoming Trek, was a counselor at a Wider Op (an event hosted by a sister Girl Scouts council) in Colorado and at a Girl Scout camp in Michigan. She established a Double Dutch Jump Rope program for Girl Scouts in the Boston communities as an opportunity for all girls to get active, have fun, and move on to a competitive status. During her career, Lois served as a Girl Scout staff member and a Legacy Council Board member. She also chaired a Patriots’ Trail Wider Op, “Tapestry of Massachusetts.”

Lois Harris’ son Caleb and his wife Lynne Scott with the Girl Scout Museum volunteer team.

Lois was a Girl Scouts of the USA Thanks Badge and Thanks Badge II recipient and was honored with the Helen Storrow Heritage Award. Lois was a docent at the Girl Scout Museum at Cedar Hill and portrayed Juliette Low, to the delight of all. In her later years, Lois moved to Cape May, NJ, where she led two Girl Scout troops until the end of her life.

In 2018, she was honored by her Girl Scout friends with a commemorative brick in the “Pathway to Leadership,” a memorial brick walkway located at Camp Cedar Hill. (Donations made through this program provide camperships so a girl has the opportunity to attend camp, no matter her circumstances.)

Lois “Lark” Harris memorial brick on the Pathway to Leadership at Camp Cedar Hill.

Lois lived the Girl Scout Promise and Law and kept girls at the center of all she did. The Girl Scout Museum at Cedar Hill is honored to preserve her memory and help inspire others to live life to the fullest, just as “Lark” did.