Obituary of Linda K. Harrison

COLTON, NY-- Linda Joan Kay Harrison, a resident of Wildwood Rd. Colton NY was born on September 5, 1942 in South Carolina and passed away peacefully on the evening of July 21, 2018. A private interment at Pleasant Mound Cemetery in Colton, NY is planned. There will be no services. A native of Clemson, SC she obtained her bachelor's degree from Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC. Following college she started her working career in Charleston, SC, teaching at L. Mendel Rivers HS and running the city's DECA program. Subsequently, as a Navy wife, she taught in three states prior to moving with her family to Colton, NY in 1981. Her career as a Home Economics teacher spanned nearly four decades as she shared her love, knowledge and skills with countless eager students. She lived a life full of her twin passions for both education and creativity. While busy raising a family and actively teaching at Colton-Pierrepont Central School she continued her pursuit of personal development by obtaining master's degrees in two education-related fields from SUNY Oswego and St. Lawrence University. In her retirement years, she enjoyed painting, sewing, and experimenting with various recipes from her vast collection of cookbooks. In summers, she loved working in her many flower beds which annually exploded with impressive beauty and fragrance. Also as a lifelong lover of the creative arts she continued improving her skills in painting both in watercolors and oils. Linda was a student of the artist Michiko Taylor of Parishville, NY who became her very close friend and mentor. Although a resident of "the North Country" since 1981 her roots remained solidly in South Carolina where they are vast and run deep. As a daughter of the South and the Palmetto State she is remembered and loved by her extensive family and many friends there; particularly in the town of Clemson where she grew up. Linda is survived by her immediate family: husband Sid Harrison of Colton, NY, her daughter Delia A. Harrison of Charlottesville VA, and son Lee S. Harrison of Hudson Valley NY. She was the daughter of William Walker Kay and Ruby Willimon Kay and is survived by her three siblings: her sister Wayne Link, brothers Aubrey Kay and Chester Kay - all reside in the area of Anderson, SC. Her beloved doggie of nearly eighteen years, Molly, crossed "the Rainbow Bridge" in 2017 and will surely be there to greet Linda and to accompany her on this her final journey. It is impossible to summarize the full, dynamic life of Linda Kay Harrison in this brief space. The feelings of all who knew and loved her are perhaps best expressed by Linda's own words below. She wrote this poem in 2001 following the death of a very dear family member. Why Do We Grieve? As countless waves washing across a beach, memories flood our souls. With each surge, we sprint to grasp the treasures. Pearls of wisdom, nurturing counsel, accounts of heroes past, riches from the heart. Too many treasures to examine before the next wave rolls in. Gems of wit, finely honed provocations, refined rebuttals, challenges to the mind. The treasures, now finite, the bell has tolled. We grieve for ourselves, the source of the treasures, now gone. We are needy, humbled, in poverty of words to express our sorrow. Tears flow, we cannot speak, the tides of Nature overcome. by Linda Kay Harrison July 07, 2001