She greeted her guests with a hug when they arrived and full English breakfast when they woke up in the morning. Her guests helped her through a difficult period when she lost her husband while she offered them a place that was like home.
The Windsor House bed and breakfast was her life for nearly three decades, but now, Harris has sold the inn and will embark on a cross-country journey where she doesn't know where she'll end up.
"We had the world at our a breakfast table," said Harris. "It's been amazing. We'll miss that for sure."
Harris and her first husband purchased the 220-year-old home in 1978 and turned it into an inn, the city's first licensed inn.
"We wanted a magnificent mansion in a beautiful location," Harris said. Harris and her husband, Fritz Crumb, who died in 1983, were wowed by the home and its historic roots. George Washington once visited the home; it was built by one of Washington's lieutenants, Aaron Pardee. It stayed in the Pardee family for four generations, until the 1940s.
Harris' goal was to run an inn focused on traditional English hospitality. That meant full breakfast in the morning and high tea in the afternoon. Her favorite part was meeting new people and sharing stories over tea.
But it was also a job that required her attention 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"My husband died and I had to do breakfast the next morning," Harris said. "The show must go on. The challenge is you have to go on. You don't have a private life, the guests come first."
Three years after her husband's death, Harris traveled to England and stayed at a bed and breakfast. There, she met Englishman John Harris, who had also lost his spouse. In 1989, the couple married and John Harris moved to Newburyport to run the inn with his new bride.
"I love Newburyport," John Harris said. "I've never regretted coming over here."
Bob and Clare Keller stayed at the inn seven years ago before moving into their Fruit Street home. Their two-night stay at the inn over Christmas that year led to a long friendship with the Harris's.
"The rooms are not high-tech. They are comfortable," Bob Keller said. "John and Judith were wonderful hosts. They cooked a marvelous breakfast. It's unique in its charm. We really enjoyed the personal touch the Windsor House had. We're sorry it will no longer be a place to stay. We'll really miss them."
The sale of the inn will be completed next week, Judith Harris said. The buyer is a couple who plan to restore the home to a single family use.
Judith Harris hoped to see the property stay as a bed and breakfast and even turned down other offers from buyers who wanted to turn the place into condominiums.
"Newburyport is an extraordinary place," Judith Harris said. "I tell people it's 40 miles and 200 years outside of Boston. I hope it stays that way. We're grateful this house is going to be maintained."
The Harris's have sent most of their belongings into storage and are taking only the necessary things in their new motor home. The rest of the inn's furniture will be sold during an estate sale at the inn Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"It's daunting to go through the house and realize you'll never see it again, do it again," Judith Harris said. "I'm closing the door on almost half of my entire life. We're also going to have a new adventure."
John, 70, and Judith, 61, will leave Newburyport in a week or so, and head toward the Hudson River. Beyond that, they don't know where they'll end up.
The Windsor House, 38 Federal St.
Built: 1786 by Lt. Aaron Pardee of the Continental Army
History: Pardee and his wife, Jane Perkins (sister of Newburyport inventor Jacob Perkins), moved into the home as their wedding gift. Their descendents lived there until 1948.
As an inn: Has been a six-room English-style bed and breakfast since 1978 operated by Judith and John Harris.
Now: Inn has sold and will be returned to a single family use.
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