Lenetta Kay Harris

Lenetta Kay Harris, known affectionately as Kay to her family and close friends, passed peacefully into her Heavenly home on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at the age of 79 in Lansing, Michigan, surrounded by the love of her daughter, family, and friends.

Born on August 16, 1946, in Muskegon, Michigan, to Moses and Nathaniel (Nae) Harris (Kimble), Lenetta moved with her family to Lansing shortly after her birth. She graduated from J.W. Sexton High School in 1964 and became active in the Civil Rights Movement while beginning studies at Lansing Community College, where she earned an accounting certificate. Lenetta dedicated her professional life to public service, starting in Payroll Services at Michigan State University in the mid-1960s before joining the State of Michigan in the late 1960s. She served as a financial analyst across several departments, including Corrections and Lottery, before retiring from the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget in 2003 after more than 30 years of committed service.

A woman of deep faith, Lenetta accepted Christ at an early age and worshipped for many years at Lansing Church of God in Christ, as well as New Jerusalem Church and Mount Hope Church. She cherished watching Spartan football and basketball, enjoyed classic movies, yard work and gardening, and had a special fondness for breakfast foods at any hour. She also delighted in her role as Sophia to her daughter Jacqui’s Dorothy in their shared love for The Golden Girls. Those who knew her, even briefly, remembered her loving smile, warm spirit, and gentle heart.

Lenetta was preceded in death by her parents, her older sister Ann Costa and brother-in-law Ernest Costa, and her older brother Moses Harris Jr. and sister-in-law Marva Harris. She is survived by her only child, Jacqui Broughton, one niece, Kara A. Abdurrahim, six nephews: Todd (Heather) Gibson, Joseph (Annie) Harris, Demetrius Harris, Anthony Costa, David Costa, and Stephen Costa, a host of great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins, and her two beloved grandcats, Miss Luna Tuna R. Paws and Jordan M.C. Paws.