William Harrison Tuesday, October 9, 2007 12:16 AM EDT William Henry Harrison, 87, resident of 1110 Marshall Road, widower of Mary Hodges Harrison, died Monday, Oct. 8, 2007 at his home. William Henry Harrison was born on May 6, 1920 at Millway, the ancestral family home in southern Greenwood County. He was the fourth of six sons of Wade Cothran Harrison (dec.1956) and Lucia Dolly Hughey Harrison (dec.1989). William attended The Bradley School and Greenwood High School and went on to graduate from The Citadel as a member of the Class of 1941, finding his greatest enjoyment as Captain of The Citadel varsity track team. He was inducted into the United States Army in the Spring of 1941 as a Lieutenant in the Artillery Corps. After Pearl Harbor, he served as Battery Commander in Los Angeles and Astoria, Oregon with the 56th Coast Artillery and then as Headquarters Commandant of the Western Defense Command in San Francisco. After further officer’s training in Seattle, he was transferred overseas with the Inspector General’s Department and served tours as a Major with 6th Army Headquarters in Manila, Philippines and Kyoto, Japan where he personally inspected the aftermath of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Discharged in March of 1946, he returned to join in a partnership with his brother Wade as owners and officers of Millway Lumber Company and Harrison Brothers Lumber Company until his retirement from business in 1986. On April 23, 1949 he married Mary Hodges of Greenwood and together had three children, Bill (1950), Jim (1951), and Perrin (1952). Mary Harrison died in Greenwood on June 30, 2004 at age 81. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church. William Harrison was a recognized civic leader who served with countless boards and organizations over his sixty years of public service, including: n Deacon, Elder, and Sunday school teacher of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood * President and Lt. Governor of Kiwanis and one of the founders of the Greenwood Golden K organization * Three term member and two term Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Self Memorial Hospital * Fifteen year member of the Board of Directors of Park Seed Company * Elected member of Greenwood’s first County Council in 1972 * Founding charter member, President, and Honorary Life Member of the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association and Chairman of the SLMA Insurance Board With a lifelong passion for politics he was among a handful of Strom Thurmond Republicans who, in the early 1960’s, built the foundations of the modern day Republican Party in South Carolina. His election to County Council in 1972 was noteworthy as the first Republican countywide elected official since Reconstruction. Over more than 30 years of political involvement, he participated in the active leadership of numerous state, national, and Presidential campaigns as well as the Greenwood and South Carolina Republican parties. In February 1998 he was elected to the Greenwood County Hall of Fame for his decades of public service. Survivors include his brothers, Frank E. Harrison of Millway and Bradley, SC, James H. Harrison of Mt. Pleasant, SC,and Robert T. Harrison of Greenville, SC. He was predeceased by his brothers Wade C. Harrison of Millway and Bradley and John T. Harrison of Winnsboro, SC. He is also survived by his children, William H. Harrison, Jr. of Charleston, SC, James H. Harrison of Columbia, and Perrin Harrison Rutter of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Memorial services will be conducted Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, with the Reverend David L. Mayo and Reverend Dr. George Wilson officiating. Burial will be in the Oakbrook Memorial Park at 4:30 p.m. Honorary escort will be members of the Henry Reynolds Sunday School Class, along with Gordon Bailes, Earl Cowan, George Ballentine, Jimmy Wade, Howard Parker, Bill Gardner, Douglas Goode, Watson Dorn, Bill McElhenny, Craig Stuckey and Travis Stevenson. The family is at home, Treehouse Apartment 4016 at Wesley Commons and will receive friends following the service in Alexander Hall at the First Presbyterian Church. Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646 in memory of Mr. Harrison. For additional information and online condolences please visit
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