Terry was born March 21, 1948 in Monticello, IN to the late Carroll Harrison and Helen Marie Reynolds Harrison. He graduated from Purdue University in 1968 and was a member of the Theta XI fraternity. While a student at Purdue he worked with The Marshall Space and Flight Center in Birmingham Alabama on the Apollo space capsule design. After graduation he moved to North Carolina to work for EPA as a mechanical engineer.
He was preceded in death by a brother Keith Harrison and a sister Barbara Rector.
Terry retired from the Environmental Protection Agency after more than 30 years of service. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the early age of 50, but never let that keep him from fishing every week and traveling to Emerald Isle with his Scout boat in tow, managing to stop and grab some Chili at Wendy’s on his way down the highway. In his retirement he was able to do what he loved most, next to his family, which was fish, fish, fish. In addition, he had the opportunity to take care of his grandchildren Kira and Jace after they were born. The time he spent three days a week with his grandbabies was precious. Whatever his children or grandchildren wanted to do with him, his answer was always ‘yes’. He was a dedicated father who made it to every sporting event, Indian Princess meeting, and science competition for his children. Whenever a problem came up he was quick to engineer a solution. In his last year of life, even as he struggled with his health, he was able to go to South Dakota pheasant hunting with his son, and in May of 2013 traveled to Tennessee to go fishing on Dale Hollow Lake with his brothers, sister, and son for shellcrackers and bass.
Terry is survived by his wife of 36 years, Susan Harrison; a son Kevin and his wife Jill, a daughter Emily and his two loving grandchildren Kira and Jace whom he cared for up until his illness. Kira and Jace were the light of his life. He is also survived by two brothers John Shell, and Larry Shell of Tennessee and a sister Connie Spear of Florida.
A celebration of life will be held 4 pm Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home Chapel, 200 SE Maynard Road, Cary, NC 27511. The family will receive friends 3-4 pm prior to the service at the funeral home. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, July 27, 2013 at Forks United Church of Christ Cemetery, 4500 Sullivan Trail, Stockertown, PA.
The family would like to express its gratitude to Dr. Kristy Richards, Jim McGowan, and Dr. Lawrence Marks and the UNC Radiation Oncology team for their dedicated and positive approach to treating Terry.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Terry’s name may be made to Zoweh Ministries, P.O. Box 2261, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2261 or Take A Kid Fishing Foundation, P.O. Box 1191, Morehead City, NC 28577.
Condolences may be sent to www.BrownWynneCary.com
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