Frank E. Harrison, 96, lifelong resident of Millway Road in McCormick and Greenwood Counties in SC, passed away on March 21, 2015. A family graveside service will be held at Horeb Church Cemetery on SC Highway 10, about 3 miles north of Troy SC, on Saturday, March 28 at 2pm. A memorial service will follow at 3pm at Millway, the Harrison family home at 907 Millway Road, Bradley SC. The memorial service will be followed immediately by a gathering of friends and relatives, also at Millway, to remember and celebrate Frank, and to honor the passing of a generation.
Frank was born at Millway on December 18, 1918, one of six sons of the late Wade C. Harrison and Lucia “Dolly” Hughey Harrison. Millway was a self-sufficient working farm during his childhood, during which he and his brothers saw the passing of Confederate veterans, the transition from cotton fields to pine timberland, and the effects of the Great Depression. He attended Greenwood High School, and The Citadel, where he studied history and political science and graduated with the Class of 1940. His subsequent training at the University of South Carolina School of Law was interrupted by U.S. Army service in the Second World War, which included an extended post in Alaska, commanding an anti-aircraft battery in the Aleutian Campaign. After World War II, he served in the Army Reserve as a Field Artillery Officer where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Finishing law school after the war, Frank moved back home and began practicing law in 1947. He remained single until 1957, when he was introduced to Phyllis Hendricks Herring, with whom he fell deeply in love and married. Frank and Phyllis built a home and raised a family on Millway Road. Though they lived in the country, they were active in the communities of McCormick and Greenwood. Frank practiced law in McCormick and was McCormick County Attorney for many years. He was also an active member of the McCormick Chamber of Commerce, and was instrumental in the founding of the McCormick Country Club and the McCormick County Republican Party. He became an outspoken advocate for local and private control of land and water management in the face of federal reservoir projects, and later was instrumental in the establishment of Savannah Lakes Village. He was active in the SC Bar Association, and served on the SC Judicial Review Board. He was a longtime member of the Exchange Club, the American Legion, and the First Presbyterian Church in Greenwood.
Frank enjoyed golf, history, politics, music, forestry, and weekends in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He loved his home, his family, and his community, and he clung to his work and his life tenaciously. He kept his McCormick law office open until he was 92 years old, and regularly patrolled the family timberland even longer. A widower since losing his beloved Phyllis in 2013, he spent the last 18 months under skilled nursing care but still sat up at a desk almost every day, paying attention to the world and sharing its history with whoever would listen. He was the last survivor of a large family, and one of the last of what has been called this country’s greatest generation. He leaves behind an enduring legacy of hard work, honorable service, devotion to country and family, and respect for the land. He rose to many challenges, won some and lost some, and never lost his ability to laugh at himself.
He is survived by sons Francis E. Harrison Jr. of Louisville CO, Wade C. Harrison II of Atlanta GA, and John E. “Jack” Harrison of Somerset WI; daughters-in-law Deborah Johnson Harrison of Louisville CO and Debra Larson Harrison of Somerset WI; grandchildren Christian A. Harrison and Signe Ariail Harrison of Louisville CO, John E. “Jack” Harrison Jr of Minneapolis MN and Luke E. Harrison of Somerset WI.
Memorials may be made to Horeb Church Cemetery Fund, PO Box 51, Bradley SC 29819.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
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