Rev. Dr. George William Harrison

1926 - 2018

The Rev. Dr. George William Harrison, 91, a veteran of the Battle of Okinawa, a Baptist minister and theologian, and husband of Anna Jean Walker Harrison for 68 years, died May 15, 2018 in Daphne, Ala. Visitation will be at noon Saturday, May 19, 2018, at Handsboro Baptist Church in Gulfport, Miss., followed by a remembrance service at 1 p.m. Burial will take place shortly afterward at Floral Hills Memorial Gardens in Gulfport. Riemann Family Funeral Home in Gulfport, Miss., is handling arrangements. Dr. Harrison was preceded in death by his parents, Etta Myrl and Corban Guy Harrison; sisters Virginia Saltsman, Isabel Spreen and Vera Dirk, and brother Clifford Harrison. He is survived by wife, Jean, of Spanish Fort, Ala., daughters Janet Harrison English (Dewey) Spanish Fort, Ala., and Carolyn Ann Harrison (Michael Darby) of Metairie, La., and son David Alan Harrison (Denise) of Mandeville, La. He is also survived by grandchildren Michael Haller, Jack English, Koby Coco, Nicholas Harrison, Nicole Harrison, Christian Harrison and great grandson Shea Haller. Born June 20, 1926, in Aetnaville, Ky., Dr. Harrison graduated valedictorian from Beaver Dam High School in Kentucky. He studied engineering at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, before serving in the U.S. Army infantry during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, for which he earned a Bronze Star, as well as other medals. He finished his Army service during the Korean occupation. Returning Stateside, Dr. Harrison earned his bachelor's degree in math and English from Georgetown College in Kentucky. While at Georgetown, he met and later married Anna Jean Walker, a fellow student and religion educator. Dr. Harrison answered the call to ministry, earning a bachelor's of divinity and doctoral degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He returned to Georgetown College, teaching philosophy and ethics from 1955 to 1960. Dr. Harrison served as professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from 1960 to 1992. During those years, he became known to congregations at hundreds of churches across the South as a guest speaker and as interim pastor. He also wrote lessons for the Baptist Sunday School Board. He led an archeological dig in Beersheba in Israel in the summer of 1967, and took sabbatical leaves to study at Golden Gate Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., and at several universities in the Toronto, Canada, area. He was an avid walker and master gardener, and enjoyed closely following the news events of the day. He had an uncanny memory and a keen interest in people. The Harrisons retired to Gulfport, Miss., but were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. They lived in Spanish Fort, Ala., from 2005 to the present. Dr. Harrison was delighted to take part in the Honor Flight program, which flew WWII veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the National World War II Memorial and other sites. Dr. Harrison proudly wore his commemorative World War II cap during outings in Spanish Fort, earning him many a free meal. Each Christmas Eve, his hushed family gathered around, he'd open his old Scofield Reference Bible made moldy and ragged by Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters, to read aloud the story of the birth of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke.