FRED HARRSEN

HARRSEN, FRED May 4, 1920 to November 13, 2010 Fred Harrsen died at home on Saturday, November 13th, after a long illness. Fred was the son of Richard and Marjorie (Lovely) Harrsen. A native San Diegan, he was born May 4, 1920 at Mercy Hospital. He was graduated from La Jolla High School in 1937. Fred served in the US Navy during World War II onboard an LST, fighting in more than ten Pacific landings. Later he was stationed on submarines. When Fred returned, he married the "girl almost next door" Rowena (Joan) Drake. They were wed in Pacific Beach in August 1946 and celebrated their 64th anniversary this year. Fred fished for tuna aboard ships that went to sea for months at a time. He then became a proud member of the merchant marine as he worked on harbor and sea going tugboats. Through self-study he attained his professional licenses. He worked his way up to chief engineer aboard tugs towing barges between California and Alaska. Fred was one of those mechanically inclined men who could build anything or repair anything. Professional electricians and plumbers would praise the quality of his "do it yourself" home projects. It wasn't until his 80s that he was convinced to stop climbing on the roof or crawling under the house. His interest and skill in mechanical things translated to computers. He took quickly to e-mail, digital photography, and scanning old documents. When he was mostly confined to home, he kept up with the world by downloading material to his new electronic book reader. Fred is survived by wife Joan, daughters Judy Parker, Susan (Dennis) Mar, and Cynthia (Skip) Noble, grandchildren Jeff, Shelley, David, Alicia, and Heather, five great-grand-children, and five great-great grandchildren, sister Lillian (George) Webster, and cousin Gwendolyn Marinos. He was predeceased by grandson Sean.

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