John Harrison, Sr

John “Paw-Paw” Arthur Harrison, Sr., 59, of Concord, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, son-in-law and friend, went home to be with the Lord, on Tuesday, January 31, 2012, after a two year battle with cancer. John was born in Rowan County on June 5, 1952, to the late Arthur “Dink” Ross Harrison and Edith Coble Harrison. John grew up in Charlotte and married his best friend and love of his life, Janet Tucker, on March 1, 1973. Their marriage was blessed with two sons, John Harrison, Jr. and Jason Alan Harrison. He loved both of his sons and cherished the precious memories and happy times spent with them. His greatest joy in the later part of his life was being the best “Paw-Paw” to his beautiful granddaughters. We will always remember him as a man who loved his family, a loyal and loving husband, a great friend, a man who loved the Lord and his church family and endured and persevered the difficult trials of life. Mr. Harrison served his country honorably in the U.S. Army, spending a term overseas in Okinawa, Japan. He enjoyed riding his Honda motorcycle, “Miss Goldwing” with “The Gang”. His passion for the sport of softball made him a talented pitcher for many teams in Cabarrus County for over 30 years. He was employed by FedEx Freight, LTL, Charlotte, NC for the past 24 years. He is preceded in death by his father and mother and his son, Jason Alan Harrison. He is survived by his wife, Janet Tucker Harrison; his son, John Arthur Harrison, Jr. and wife, Meredith of Rockwell; two granddaughters, Marianna Elizabeth and Emma Grace Harrison; his sister, Sherry Lane of Wingate; brother-in-law, Richard Tucker and wife, Shelia of Shallotte; two sister-in-laws, Vickie Poole and husband, Gary of Gold Hill and Carol Haigler and husband, Aubrey of Midland; and many nieces and nephews. The Harrison family would like to thank Dr. Geoffrey Rackoff, Dr. Christopher Jones, Oncologist, Dr. Jerome Butler, Radiologist Oncologist and the staff at Batte Cancer Center. Also, many thanks to Donna Clark, his hospice nurse, for the wonderful care in his final days. The family will receive friends on Thursday, February 2, 2012, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Charity Baptist Church, 2420 Brantley Road, Kannapolis, NC. The funeral service will be held on Friday, February 3, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at the church. Rev. Marty Payton, Rev. Ron Bushey, Rev. R.J. Hammond and Rev. Abe Ferris will officiate. Burial will follow at Carolina Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Charity Baptist Church Building Fund, 2420 Brantley Road, Kannapolis, NC 28083 or Hospice & Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, 5003 Hospice Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081. Hartsell Funeral Home of Concord is serving the Harrison family.