Charles Harrison

1933 - 2014

CHARLES "TEX" WALKER HARRISON
1933-2014
Charles Walker Harrison, affectionately known as "Tex" and "Choker", was born in Gary, Ind., Jan. 20, 1933. Houston became his home when his parents, Alexander and Lullelia Walker Harrison, relocated to the historic Fifth Ward.
Charles graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in 1950. At Wheatley, he was an exceptional athlete who competed in varsity basketball. He was recruited by North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and attended on an athletic scholarship. Charles received the nickname "Tex" because he was a recognizable 6'5" Texan.
He was the first basketball player from an African-American institution to capture College All-American honors. He holds NCCU's second highest scoring record and was inducted into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984. During his senior year, the Harlem Globetrotters noticed Tex when they played opposite him and his College All-American team during the World Series of Basketball.
Tex graduated NCCU in 1954 and was drafted by the Globetrotters. This led to a legendary career. Tex was quick and an awesome rebounder and stellar exhibition dribbler who spent 18 years as a player before becoming a coach and advisor. He held these management positions for more than three decades.
Harrison's resume detailed a career in which many athletes fantasize. It included tea with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, private audiences with three Popes, along with cocktails with Orson Welles and Marlon Brando. During a tour in Moscow, he ate caviar with late Russian First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev. The team also received the Athletic Order of Lenin Medal in 1959 (during the Cold War), an event that solidified Tex and the Globetrotters as global ambassadors.
Tex remarked his greatest accomplishment was in 1964 when he fell in love with Tommye L. Cary. They married in Houston October 9 of the same year and shared an extraordinary life until her passing in October 2011. Their 47-year marriage produced three daughters: Olivia Tanyel, Lullelia Tenó, and Charee Tonett.
Tex was a devoted father who taught his daughters the importance of character, education, hard work and service. He exposed them to varied positive experiences, and was a loving father who they believed could fix anything.
On Nov. 20, 2014, Charles "Tex" Walker Harrison went home to be with the Lord. He is survived by his daughters: Olivia Tanyel Harrison-Bennett (Alfred), Lullelia Tenó Sigmon and Charee Tonett Harrison (Michael Bollich); four grandchildren: Seth Alexander Sigmon, Charles Harrison Bennett, Shane Henderson Bennett and Solomon Harrison Sigmon; mother-in-law Olivia Cary, and a host of other relatives and friends throughout the world. He was preceded in death by his parents Alexander and Lullellia Walker Harrison; his wife Tommye Cary Harrison, and brother Alexander "Pete" Harrison.
Home-going services will be held Tuesday, December 2, the wake/pre-service begins at 10:00 a.m. and the funeral will take place at 12:00 p.m. Both will be held at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 3826 Wheeler Ave, Houston, TX 77004. Interment will immediately follow at Golden Gate Cemetery, 8400 Hirsch Rd, Houston, TX 77016.