Restaurant Owner Dies After Serving Obama Breakfast

A restaurant owner in Akron, Ohio who served breakfast to President Barack Obama on Friday morning died hours later of a heart attack, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

 

Josephine "Ann" Harris, 70, complained of "fatigue and a tingling feeling" shortly after Obama left her family diner, Ann's Place. She was taken by ambulance to Akron General Medical Center, and by 11:18 a.m., she was pronounced dead from an apparent heart attack.

 

Harris met -- and hugged -- Obama just after 8:00 a.m., when he stopped in unannounced for breakfast. Harris' sister, Frankie Adkins, told the Beacon Journal that meeting Obama was likely a "highlight" for her sister since she was a big fan.

 

"She loved Obama," said Adkins.

 

The newspaper notes that Harris was "ecstatic" earlier in the morning when a Beacon Journal reporter spoke to her about meeting with the president.

Later Friday, Obama called Harris' daughter to offer his sympathies, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One.
"The president expressed his sorrow and his condolences," Carney said, per a White House pool report. "Very sad event, he was honored to meet her this morning and passed on his feelings that the whole family is in his thoughts and prayers today."