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Thomas E. Harrison
Born: 5/30/1938
Died: 9/24/2022
Age: 84
Community: Custer, MI
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Thomas H. Harrison, of Custer, Michigan, formerly of Davison, passed away suddenly on Saturday September 24, with his family by his side. Services will be held at Allen Funeral Home, 9136 Davison Road, Davison on Monday, October 3, 2022. Visitation at 11 a.m., service at noon and a graveside service at 3:30 p.m. at Flint Memorial Park. Donations may be made in his honor to the Davison American Legion, Post 267 or the Sanilac County Humane Society. He was born to Ben Franklin and Blanche Aretta (Tucker) Harrison on May 30, 1938. He proudly served in the United States Army, both in the reserve and on active duty, for a total of 5 ½ years.
After a brief courtship of 6 weeks, he married the love of his life, Virginia Lee Markiewicz on February 23, 1960. They were married for 47 years, until her passing on February 13, 2007. Tom lovingly cared for his Ginny for 3 ½ years while cancer ravaged her body and mind. They adopted their daughter, Kim, in October 1964 and in 1966, Jay was born, completing their family.
He worked for General Motors at Flint Truck and Bus for 32 years. He started “on the line” in production and advanced to a General Foreman. Along the way, he served as a committee man for Local 657. He actually started at General Motors in 1959, working at Willow Run, but was laid off when the Michigan economy tanked in 1960. He and Ginny and several other family members moved to Chicago, where he worked at Whammo, making the original “hula hoop”.
He was a part of the Class of 1956 from Davison High School, although he didn’t graduate with his class. While a proud Cardinal, he played football and was part of the wrestling team. He and his sister Mona were part of the first graduating class of the Davison Adult Education program in 1974. For many years, Tom and Mona’s graduation picture was used on the advertising for the Adult Education program. He then attended college for a year, and one of his greatest regrets was not graduating college. The education of his children was very important to him and was always stressed within the household. His children both graduated college, Kim earning a Master’s degree and Jay, 2 Bachelor’s degrees.
Tom and Ginny flipped houses for several years, starting in 1965 in Davison, way before it was a “thing.” They owned an apartment house in downtown Davison, one of their “flips”, for about 10 years, which was one of their dreams. When they bought their home, it was 1000 square foot tract house; when he sold it 45 years later, it was over 2000 square feet, with a finished basement and attached 2 car garage, all of which he and Ginny (with help from Kim, Jay, brother in law, Pat O’Dell, his father, brothers Tim, Bill, Homer and Ben, nephews David and Greg) built. He enjoyed playing golf for many years with his son, siblings and friends. His other “hobbies” included remodeling and building houses and watching sports, especially hockey. He was a Lions, Tigers and Red Wings fan. Before Alzheimer’s ravaged his mind, he walked five plus miles every day, winter and summer.
He leaves the following family members to cherish his memory, daughter, Kim (Wayne) Zander; son and best friend, Jay Harrison; sisters, Rosemary Nelson, Judy Harrison (Max Inman), Beth McPherson; brothers, Ernest (Carol) Doyel, Paul (Sandy) Doyel, Tim (Julia) Harrison; sisters in law, Charlene Harrison, Patricia Harrison and Kitty Harrison; brother-in-law, Paul Willitts; and a very large family of nieces and nephews and their
families, which numbers well over 100. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ben, Blanche and
Louise (his step mother, whom he came to call “mom”); his wife, Virginia (Ginny); brothers, Bill Harrison, Homer Harrison and Ben Harrison; sisters Mona O’Dell, Venita Ebert, Margaret Willits and Evelyn Doyel; brothers-in-law, Pat O’Dell, Bob Ebert, Roy Nelson and Mike McPherson; in-laws, Emily Foster, Agnes and Jedi Hendrix, Martha (Virgil) Watkins, Ann (Charles) Kitchen, Robert (Sharon) Foster; Lorna Harrison. Also preceded
in death by his furry friends, Smokey, Tommy, Miss Prissy, Buddy and Chip.
We extend our thanks and gratitude to the staff of Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital 4 Heart ICU and Floor 9, the Palliative Care Team and Spectrum Health Hospice. While the entire team of those who were caring for him were amazing and he was blessed to have their care while he made his
transition from this life, special thanks goes to his nurse Matthew, whose care and attention in those final hours eased his passing into whatever is on the other side, and made it a gentle, quiet transition.
Tom was a gentle soul, who did what was right, just because it was the right thing to do. He taught his children to do the same. His family meant everything to him.
Please share your thoughts with the family at www.allenfuneralhomeinc.com
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| Visitation |
| Date: |
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10/3/2022 |
| Time: |
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11:00 AM |
Visitation at 11a.m.
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| Funeral Service |
| Date: |
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10/3/2022 |
| Time: |
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12:00 PM |
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| Location: |
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Allen Funeral Home
9136 Davison Rd
Davison, MI 48423Get a Map to this location...
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