Akron restaurant owner dies hours after meeting Obama
By Stephanie Warsmith and Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published: July 6, 2012
ohio.com
The owner of an Akron restaurant where President Barack Obama stopped for breakfast this morning died, apparently of a heart attack, shortly after meeting him.
Josephine “Ann” Harris, 70, of Copley Township, was taken by ambulance to Akron General Medical Center after complaining of fatigue and a tingling feeling. She was pronounced dead at 11:18 a.m., according to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Harris, just a few hours before, had the honor of meeting — and hugging — Obama when he stopped at her family’s restaurant, Ann’s Place, on South Hawkins Avenue for breakfast. This was Obama’s first stop on the second day of a bus tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“I’m sure this was her highlight,” said Frankie Adkins, Harris’ sister, who lives in Tulsa, Okla., and heard about her sister’s sudden death from family members. “She loved Obama.”
Obama stopped in Ann’s Place for breakfast about 8:30 a.m. Harris was ecstatic about his visit when a Beacon Journal reporter spoke to her shortly afterward. |
