Joan Harrison

Joan Harrison, 72, of Marshalltown, left this earthly life on the evening of Friday, November 13th, at the Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. A public gathering in her memory will be held from 5-7:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 24th, (PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DAY FROM PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED DATE) at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home. Private interment will be at a later date. For condolences, please visit www.mitchellfh.com. The Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Joan and her family. Ph. 641-844-1234. Born on January 15th, 1943, in Middlesbrough, England, she was the daughter of Nicholas and Lily (Jackson) Mulligan. Joan was the middle of ten children born to the couple. She was raised in the Catholic faith and graduated from St. Patricks School in Middlesbrough. During a luncheon with a friend in town, she met the handsome young James Harrison who was stationed at the only US Army base in England. The two started dating and soon knew they were meant to be together. They were married in the presence of her family, which coming from a family of nine meant a lot of people! The blessed day was May 14th, 1966, and soon they were off to Germany for a year (his transfer) before coming to the United States. Joan loved it here and soon had the gift of retail sales. She began at the TV Lab and her last employment was at Wal-Mart- bringing the second lowest sales in the area to a high within one month. She was good at her job and was loved by clients and co-workers alike. Mrs. Harrison was a member of the Britannia Club and the Red Hat Society. Left to cherish her memory are James, her loving husband of 49 years, three sons: Christopher of St. Louis and his daughter Emma; Thomas (Fran) of Tama and his daughter Leslie and Timothy of Marshalltown, her three brothers and three sisters- John, Tony, Thomas, Theresa, Kathleen and Sheila as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends as well as the Harrison side. In death, she rejoined her parents; grandson, David; brothers, James, (who died in infancy) and Nicholas; and sister, Maureen.