Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Giving Back
Clarke County native and civic volunteer Jane Cary Randolph Harrison, 90, of Longwood near Boyce, who was honored as this newspaper’s Citizen of the Year in 1990, was laid to rest May 3 after passing away at her home last week.
Harrison “died peacefully after a short illness on April 30,” according to an obituary provided by the Enders & Shirley Funeral Home in Berryville, which handled funeral arrangements.
She was known for her service to the community, especially in helping to found two charitable organizations in the county – Help with Housing and FISH, “where she continued to do telephone duty up until the time of her death,” according to the obituary notice.
Harrison was described as “the backbone” of FISH by the Rev. Daniel Garrett of Duncan Memorial Methodist Church in Berryville in a 1990 interview regarding her Citizen of the Year award. The group was formed in 1968 to serve people needing transportation and clothing as well as children needing speech therapy. It was modeled after a similar group in England, which had asked those in need to put a cutout of a fish in their window so that its members could find them to provide help.
As president and a member of the board of directors of Help with Housing, Harrison also organized volunteers to repair and renovate homes for elderly and handicapped residents so that they could continue to live in them.
When interviewed in 1990 about her mother’s community service, her daughter Cary recalled, “The tenant house behind Longwood became home to a succession of families who had no place else to live.”
In 1998, Harrison received the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award, which won a $1,000 gift for FISH. The honor, which was given by the retail company and the Volunteer Center of Northern Shenandoah Valley United Way, recognized outstanding volunteer service.
In nominating her for that award, Carol Flues, of Boyce, wrote in February 1978 of Harrison’s work with FISH: “Mrs. Jane Harrison is the heart and soul of an organization that expresses the heart and soul of our community.”
“In thirty years, she has never lost her faith, and she has never lost her enthusiasm,” Flues continued.
Harrison also was a member of the Goodwill Association in Millwood and donated land in Millwood to Habitat for Humanity, the obituary noted.
She is survived by three children, Cary Embury, Nancy Thorpe and Benjamin Harrison, as well as eight grandchildren and an unspecified number of nieces and nephews, according to the obituary notice.
The funeral service was conducted at Christ Church in Millwood, where she was a lifelong member, followed by burial at Old Chapel Cemetery on Route 340 between Boyce and Berryville, according to the funeral home.
The notice noted that family members suggested that gifts in her memory be designated for the church’s music program as a tribute to her commitment to the choir.
According to the obituary notice, Harrison was born May 21, 1917, at The Moorings in Millwood and was the daughter of Benjamin O’Fallon and Fontaine Jones Randolph. It also noted that she attended the Blue Ridge Country School in Millwood and graduated from John Burroughs School in St Louis, Mo., and she served in the Red Cross in Australia and New Guinea during World War II.
In 1948, the notice added, she married Benjamin Harrison, of Longwood, and for the next 60 years devoted herself to raising a family and serving the community.
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.