Harriet Agnes "Sherrie" Harrison

1932 - 2025

Harriet Agnes (Sherrie) Harrison

December 5th, 1932 - June 14th 2025

Sherrie Harrison passed peacefully to the hand of the Lord on June 14th, 2025, at Canyon Creek Memory Care in Billings MT.

Sherrie was born to Blaz R Lugar Jr and Zella May Hanson on December 5th, 1932, in Butte MT. The Lugar family was a central part of life in the Centennial Valley with their extended family and two small girls, Sherrie and Betty Lou. In 1938, they hooked up the horses and moved their family to the Big Hole Valley near Jackson MT. Sherrie loved both the Centennial and Big Hole Valleys and the ranching life that was the focus of the family. She was an outside girl, often most comfortable in jeans and on a horse. She was always helping Blaz and Zella with the outside chores, moving cattle and calving.

She boarded in Dillon to attend Beaverhead County High School from which she graduated at age 16. She then went on to Montana Normal College (University of Montana Western) for 2 years. She also worked at the Hazelbaker Agency for a time, walking to work in high heels every day from the boarding house. During this time in Dillon, she also boarded with George and Hazel Harrison, and this is where she met her future husband, Bill Harrison. Sherrie left college and married Bill on February 28th, 1954. For a time, Bill and Sherrie shared an interest in the Chevron station in the center of Dillon. However, destiny called, and they sold their interest in the station and headed back to the Big Hole Valley to ranch alongside Sherrie's parents, Blaz and Zella. They later purchased full interest in the Lugar Family ranch and added another ranch property in the Big Hole to the operation. During this time, Sherrie had two children, Thomas Dean and Lee Ann. Bill and Sherrie stayed on the ranch as Blaz and Zella moved to Dillon after Blaz suffered a heart attack and had to retire.

Sherrie was perpetually cheery and found a silver lining in any situation. She worked alongside Bill with the daily operations of the ranches, all while raising kids, keeping a spotless home and cooking for 30 plus hay crew in the summer months. Her energy and enthusiasm for her family and ranching was unmatched. Even when the winters were brutal, she still took up the daily challenges of shoveling out the chicken house, helping calve and trying to get kids to school. Her caregiving nature helped nurse kids and calves and mend Bill when accidents happened.

In 1972 the winters had taken too much of a toll on Bill who traveled to Dillon and the Beaverhead Valley to purchase a place to winter cattle and get out of the extreme winter conditions to calve. He purchased the ranch North of Dillon at that time, and they moved the family to Dillon full time and used the Big Hole ranch for summer grazing. Sherrie settled into a ranching operation once again, putting a home together and feeding people who came to the feedlot.

Ultimately, Bill and Sherrie "retired" to a small place just a couple of miles North of Dillon. During this time, Bill ran an owner operator cattle trucking business, they followed the quarter horse shows with their daughter and a business venture in Helena with their son. Sherrie showed quarter horses for a time with Lee Ann, however, her best calling was as Grandma to Cameron and Shelby. She was constantly busy helping grandkids, cleaning and helping in the show barn and being "chief cook and bottle washer" as the horse shows.

Sherrie had a lifelong passion toward genealogy and history, having researched her and Bill's family lineages. She also contributed to the writing of two Beaverhead County History Books and a Centennial Valley History Book. She was a walking encyclopedia of southwestern family lineages. She loved her family, her kitties, and all the animals we took care of over the years. To Sherrie, life was to be lived fully and unabashedly and that is exactly what she did. She was tough, sassy and always had that beautiful smile on her face. The world has lost a beautiful heart and soul in her passing.

Sherrie was preceded in death by her parents, Blaz R. Lugar Jr and Zella May Hanson Lugar. Her sister Betty Lou Sage and niece Jeanette Sage Chapel and nephew Grant Sage. She is survived by her daughter, Lee Ann Harrison (Joe DiMattei), granddaughter, Shelby DeMars Scavone (Jacob Scavone), grandson, Cameron Blaz DeMars and son, Thomas Dean Harrison.

A celebration of life for Sherrie has been scheduled for Friday, June 27th, at 3:00 PM at the University of Montana Western STC Great Room. Memorials can be sent to the Beaverhead County Museum or the Centennial Valley Historical Association.