Obituary of Fred Don Harrision

Fred D. Harrison, of Simi Valley, CA died peacefully Saturday, December 2, 2023, at age 93, of complications from a stroke. Fred is predeceased by his beloved wife of 51 years, Arlene Mack Harrison and his son, Fredric Harrison. He is survived by two sons, Randall and Richard Harrison, his stepdaughter, Wendy Karanfilian, his stepson, Steven Pearl, and five grandchildren.

Fred was born in Lubbock, TX and had two older brothers he admired, Ken and Bert Harrison. Fred and his family moved to Fresno when he was nine. In high school, Fred was a smart and athletic student, and was the quarterback of his football team. In 1948, he was awarded a scholarship and attended the University of California, Berkeley. There, he majored in Physical Education, joined the Delta Chi fraternity, and was a quarterback on the CAL football team (one of Coach “Pappy’s Boys”).

After college, Fred joined the Marines and was a Navy pilot. He loved to tell the story about how he survived a plane crash while flying a Navy Jet.  In the1950s, Fred got married to his first wife, began his career in sales and data management at IBM, (and later at Lockheed Martin), and had three sons. In 1967, Fred got divorced and married Arlene, the love of his life.  They lived happily together for over 50 years. Fred was active in local Simi Valley politics and the men’s Simi Valley golf club. Fred loved to golf, travel, listen to music (particularly Johnny Mathis), and drive up to the SF Bay area with Arlene, to visit Wendy, his son-in-law, John Karanfilian, and his adored granddaughters, Amy and Zoe Karanfilian.