William Harrison

William Robert Harrison died from complications of advanced lung cancer at his home in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, on the morning of Wednesday, June 22, 2022. He was born on September 28, 1940, at the university hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Barbara Sinclair Harrison and Martin Leigh Harrison (a professor of law at the University of Alabama who later served as dean). After an education in city schools, Robert went on to receive the Phi Beta Kappa key and a Bachelor’s degree in English in 1962 from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where his uncle Charles Trawick Harrison served as professor of English and Dean of the College and where Robert had joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He briefly pursued a JD at Alabama before earning his Master’s degree in 1964 from the University of Florida, where he wrote a thesis on the works of the poet John Milton. He also served his country for six years in the U.S. Army Reserves during the Vietnam conflict, where he was proud to earn a badge for sharpshooting—as well as the affectionate nickname of “Doc” from his fellow reservists. After an itinerant period of teaching at a variety of postsecondary institutions across the Southeast, including Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and Murray State University in Kentucky, Robert took a position in 1970 at Danville Community College in Danville, Virginia, where he would attain the rank of Associate Professor and would remain for the next three decades; even after his official retirement, in 2004, he continued to teach regularly on an adjunct basis, and by 2016 was proud to have been a college teacher for more than 50 years. He also pursued a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (all but completing a dissertation on the poems of Samuel Daniel). Robert was a man of both catholic intellectual curiosity and intense, iron-clad fidelity to any person or subject lucky enough to find shelter under his wing. He fell instantly in love with his wife, Carolyn, after meeting her on a blind date. They were married on June 17, 1977, and they deeply enjoyed raising a family together as well as traveling—to scores of obscure bed and breakfasts dotted throughout the rural Southeast; to the beach, whether by themselves or with friends; and almost anywhere humanly possible, including the Grand Canyon, via train. He was a voracious reader, as could be imagined, as well as a careful student of scripture who by the time of his death had written detailed expositions on most of the psalms (comparing four different Bible translations). He excelled from an early age at chess, winning the Alabama Youth Chess Championship in 1957 and countless victories thereafter at a wide range of amateur tournaments and competitions, including the Virginia Open. He also loved to study the history of chess, even poring over the games of nineteenth-century greats such as Harry Pillsbury and Paul Morphy, and was a long-time member of the U.S. Chess Federation. Robert was almost without peer as a music listener, amassing and carefully cataloging an enormous collection of recordings of Schubert’s 9th Symphony (some of which he later donated to his alma mater), along with almost every major symphony, cantata, song cycle, and concerto imaginable; he was a sincere fan of opera and in his last years embraced the challenge of listening to as many of the 65 completed operas of Gaetano Donizetti as he could. Yet he also knew more about the songs of Bob Dylan and the movies of Alfred Hitchcock than most people have ever forgotten. In football, loyal to his roots, he cheered for the Crimson Tide; in baseball, having idolized Stan Musial during his childhood, he rooted for the Cardinals. No matter if the subject concerned politics or church polity, the Book of Common Prayer or the plays of Shakespeare, he was galvanized to speak about almost any subject of interest to him with perspicacity, incisiveness, and eloquence up to his final weeks. Whether asked to give his opinion on the proper placement of a comma or the meaning of the greatest masterpieces, nothing seemed unimportant to Robert that helped communicate the eternal nature of the human spirit. Everything that interested him interested him completely, and he was unabashed about sharing these interests with anyone he met. Robert’s love of family exceeded even his love for words and music, and his conception of family was broad. Dogs were instinctively drawn to him, and indeed he was a devoted master to some of the happiest strays ever to cross anyone’s path. As a man of faith, he was proud to serve as a lay minister at several different congregations over the years. He also made it a personal ministry to visit local nursing homes, talking and praying with a long list of residents—whom he came to consider close friends—on a weekly basis. He was indefatigable as an email correspondent to acquaintances and relatives scattered across the United States; the text messages he sent to his children about almost any and every subject that occurred to him cannot possibly be rivaled for frequency, length, curiosity, or affection. His memory is celebrated, and his loss is mourned, by his wife, Carolyn, who ministered to him tirelessly throughout his final struggle; by three children: Chad Blair Harrison (Laynie), Martha-Lynn Corner (Jason), and Martin Leigh Harrison II (Carrie); and by five grandchildren: Joseph Blair Harrison (25), Eva Daisy Corner (14), Silas Bonham Corner (11), Damien Carter Dolive Harrison (2.5), and Raiya Camille Dolive Harrison (8 months). He is also survived by a sister, Barbara Harrison Smith (Harwood), of Boone, NC; and by his nephew (Joseph Leigh) and niece (Carolyn Eva). A visitation will be held Friday, June 24, 6 to 8 p.m., at Townes Funeral Home in Danville, Virginia. The funeral (graveside service only) will be held Saturday, June 25, at 11 a.m., at the Blair Family Cemetery on Vance Hill Road in Pittsylvania County. The Rev. Susan M. Hannah of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Danville, will officiate. In addition to or in lieu of flowers, donations are recommended to the Danville-Pittsylvania Cancer Association; you are also welcome to leave a bag of dog food at the Pittsylvania Pet Center in honor of Andy, Robert and Carolyn’s family dog, who will also miss Robert very much.