John Elmond Harrison was born the second son of Clyde (Pappy), and Kathleen Cates Harrison on March 28, 1949, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He passed away on February 12, 2022, in Tulsa, Oklahoma following a brief illness.
As a small child the family relocated to Cushing/Ripley area. He attended the Council Valley Baptist Church as a child and continued to do so until his death. He accepted Christ as a young child, loving and serving the Lord the rest of his life. He graduated from Ripley High School in 1969, and always joked that it took him 20 years, but he got it done. In June 1970, he joined the Navy, and served on the USS Dixie as a machinist in the boiler room. He left the full-time life of the Navy in April 1972 but remained a Navy Reserve member until his honorable discharge in June 1975. His time on the ship took him to places far and wide.
When John came back to Oklahoma, he began a trucking career where he hauled everything from milk, cheese, and cream to heavy oilfield equipment, to practically every corner of the United States. Several years ago, he hauled six truck loads of donated hay to the western part of the state following devastating wildfires. This was something he was proud to be a part of.
In 1994 he started his own dozer service, working all around Payne, Pawnee, and Lincoln counties, working with many landowners who he would also count as friends. In 1996 he located a dozer up in Pawnee county that was for sale by a lady named Miriam Cates. That dozer wasn’t exactly what he was looking for, but that trip certainly changed a few lives. Little did he know when he first met her, that she would become the love of his life. After several attempts at getting a date with her, she finally agreed to their first date in March 1998. After only a few months of dating, they were married in Council Valley Baptist Church on June 26, 1998. She brought to his world her sons, Randy and Jeff, and Jeff’s wife Bobbi Jan Ross Cates, and their son Tyler “Gator” Cates. His dozer business continued to grow through the years, until he retired in 2015.
After retirement from running dozers, he thought he’d like to run road graders for the county. He decided quickly that it was a little too boring and retired again after only a few months.
John also enjoyed farming and working cattle, helping his brother Jim, and nephew Brian. He also called himself a farmhand to Rick Ahrberg. In 2003, he and Miriam purchased a little bit of land next door to the church. Working on his tractors and equipment with Randy was a regular occurrence. He enjoyed working and tending to his little piece of heaven. This would include, as his neighbors can tell you, chasing the deer out of his bean field (sometimes in the middle of the night) on his 4-wheeler or Gator, as fast as he could go. He was not about to let them mess up his crop. We believe this was the biggest aggravation he had in his farming career.
John also got into the sport of pulling garden tractors with Jeff. They each had their tractors and would travel around Oklahoma and Kansas, pulling with the Oklahoma Garden Tractor Pulling Association at various events. He enjoyed tinkering on his tractor, always looking for a way soup it up and get that Full Pull.
John and Miriam enjoyed many years of camping and boating at Keystone and Kaw Lakes. The best times were when they were joined by family and friends at the lake. John had his favorite sites at the campgrounds and was known to pout if someone else was in “his” spot when he got to the lake but would get over it after a while. He enjoyed running jug lines with his brothers Tim and Scott. They spent a lot of time on the water, looking for the biggest fish in the lake. He also looked forward to going fishing with Jeff and Tyler at Sooner Lake or while camping. He loved going on boat rides on his pontoon boat and many times he and Miriam would hook it up on a Sunday after church, just to go take a boat ride during the afternoon.
John, like all the Harrisons, loved to tell stories of his childhood with his siblings and parents, and the many adventures of his life. Many laughs have been had while sitting around a cup of coffee, a campfire, or under a shade tree in the yard. Every Christmas morning, during their single years, his little Sis, Denise, would host the Divorcee`s Breakfast, attended by Denise, her kids, Kati and Cody, and her brothers John and Scott. The details of those breakfasts have been kept quiet for the protection of those involved. John could always brighten a room with his bigger than life personality. He will be missed by all who knew him.
John was predeceased by his parents, a nephew Nicholas Scott Harrison, numerous aunts, uncles and grandparents, and his mother-in-law, Leota Brien.
He is survived by his wife Miriam of the home, sons Jeff (and Bobbi Jan) of Stillwater, Randy (and Melissa Coleman) of Pawnee, grandsons, Tyler “Gator” Cates, and Cannon and Wyatt Colegrave.
He is also survived by his siblings, Jim (and Debbie), Scott (and Teresa), Denise (and Doc Brian) McNeil, all of Cushing, and Tim (and Pam), of Kaw City, Oklahoma. John is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. He is survived by aunts Lorene Franklin, Sylvia Meyerdick, Opal Gayhart, and Rosie (and John) Goin, as well as sisters-in-law, Lila (and Malvin) Cates and Valeria Portman.
Funeral Services are at 2:00pm, Saturday, February 19, 2022 at Council Valley Baptist Church in Yale with Pastor George Knapp officiating. Interment will be at Euchee Valley Memorial Park in Cushing. Services in care of Matherly-Davis Funeral Home.
It was John’s wish to help veterans who have served and sacrificed for our country. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be sent in John’s memory to:
The Gary Sinise Foundation 2029 Century Park East, Suite 1500
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (818) 432-8988
