Earl L. Harrison Jr.

3 children born to Earl Leslie Harrison, Sr, and Bertha Jane Ake Harrison. He lived

almost his entire life in Oklahoma City area with the exception of 3 years in the

military, 5 years in Lubbock, Texas, and his final 4 years in Madison, Alabama. He

was a high school graduate and a graduate of a business school with specialty in

accounting. He was an accountant for many years in the oil industry while living in

Oklahoma and Texas. Leslie was a veteran of World War II spending his time in the

Pacific area. He left the Army as a Technical Sergeant with 4 battle stars, Asiatic

pacific ribbon, the Philippine Liberation ribbon, and the good conduct medal. He was

a cryptographer supporting US forces bombers on their raids on Japanese held

islands in the Pacific. He returned to Oklahoma after the war and met Mina Ruth

Singleton while on a church outing. They were married in November 1946. Mina and

Leslie had 2 children – a boy and a girl. Leslie and Mina were happily married for 47

plus years until the unexpected death of Mina in December 1993 while returning

from an overseas trip. Mina and Leslie spent a great deal of time cruising and

traveling and enjoyed it tremendously. Subsequently, Leslie fell in love with one of

his friends from cruising – Mary Jane Spaeth. They were married in May 1996. Mary

Jane passed away on January 1, 2018.

Leslie was a lifelong member of First Christian Church in Oklahoma City. His parents

were married at First Christian and their children were in church every Sunday.

Leslie grew up in First Christian Church and volunteered in many different jobs. For

example, he was one of the men who filled the little cups for communion. He was a

Deacon, Elder, and Life Elder. He was on many committees and generally helped when

asked. When the terrorist destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in 1995, Leslie

was one of the helpers at First Christian Church where all the families, care givers,

and support workers congregated during the cleanup. He was at the church most

days doing whatever was needed – serving food, talking to people, escorting folks,

etc. One of his last “jobs” was the treasurer/bookkeeper of the church foundation

board that administered legacy monetary gifts. Leslie loved helping folks. When he

transitioned into retirement and moved to a retirement home, he started taking

pictures of folks, families, activities, whatever and then providing everyone with a

copy of the picture. He never called himself a photographer – he was just a picture

taker. All photos provided were complimentary. Another example, after he moved

to Madison, Alabama, he was again living in a retirement home. One of his most loved

activities was Bingo. He loved the game and loved helping other folks who had trouble

hearing or comprehending. However, he was scolded for doing that because the

staff really wanted each person to be independent and use their abilities. He would

often tell his son that he got in trouble again for helping and give that little smile.

He was just that way – little bit of mischief in his activities.

Leslie was very interested in genealogy. He was a direct descendent of a signer of

the Declaration of Independence and the 9th President of the United States. He

spent many hours researching his family and documenting the Harrison family.

Leslie was preceded in death by parents, Earl Leslie Harrison, Sr, and Bertha Jane

Ake Harrison, his sisters, Allah May Avant and Clara Ellen Barker, wife Mina Ruth

Singleton Harrison, and wife Mary Jane Harrison. He is survived by his son, Sandy

and wife Sandra Harrison of Madison, Alabama, and his daughter Reba Brousseau

and husband Greg of Denver, Colorado. Surviving grandchildren include Paul Leslie

Harrison, William H. “Buddy” Harrison, Cindy Fowle, Jane Brousseau, and David

Brousseau. Leslie had 3 great grandchildren – Reilly Harrison, Addison Harrison, and

Makala Fowle.

During his final days, he was assisted by Amedisys Hospice of Huntsville and

HomeInstead of Huntsville. He was very appreciative of their care and enjoyed

chatting with them when he could. He loved telling stories as anyone who knew him

could attest. The caring staff of Merrill Gardens Madison took great care of Leslie

and even visited during their off time to check on his condition. He was one of the

first residents of the new retirement home and he enjoyed the comradery with the

other residents.