Ms. Carol A. Harrison

June 26, 1944 - June 21, 2018

Carol Ann Harrison of Morton, formerly of Mahomet IL, responded to the whisper of her Father in the early morning of June 21, 2018. Born to Frank and Anna Lee Dishman in Hollywood CA on June 26, 1944, she met and married the love of her life, Mark R Harrison on a date that will forever remain their secret. This love affair of strong willed people, filled with laughter, heated discussions, and Lord knows how many private jokes, set the best example possible of how to live a life filled with love, guided by faith, and taught us all how to roll with it. Now rejoicing with her in Heaven are her parents, her husband, and two of her three children; Sarah Lynne and Mark Jr. For many years, the children and staff of Sangamon Elementary School in Mahomet were the recipients of her never ending optimism and encouragement. She loved her time there and held so many of those kids and colleagues in her heart and prayers for decades. At age 50, she opened a new chapter of her life and returned to school to train as a nurse. She never thought for a moment that she knew all the answers about the problems of life. She really only knew one answer to any problem. Love. She taught us all to love when it was hard. To love when it was easier not to. To love when everything in you said that you were right and they were wrong. She loved people who did not deserve it, but still never could have loved anyone as much as they all loved her. Upon the passing of her husband, Carol joined her daughter Rachel’s home and life in Morton. These years—spent offering all of the love, with none of the requisite correction or angst, of parenting—gave the last years of her life a solid chance at beating her youth for the happiest time of her life. It was in Morton that she became “The woman formerly known as Carol.” In Morton she was, simply, Nanee. This assumed identity manifested itself in a million ways, including spectator at competitive speech tournaments (Rebekah), violin concert enthusiast (Hannah), fan of fish stories of all sizes (Seth), and expert laundress of white baseball pants (Isaiah), but mostly as chief cheerleader and confidant for her grandchildren, and chief supplier of M&M’s and Smarties for all occasions. Missing her every day until they are reunited in Glory are her daughter Rachel, her favorite son-in-law Karmon, grandchildren Rebekah, (Washington, D.C.) Hannah, (Peoria) Seth, (Morton) and Isaiah, (Morton) (all of whom were her favorite) her sister Sandra Lee Umholz, and Sandy’s children. Please, take a moment to love someone who doesn’t deserve it, mend a fence before it’s too late, and if you just must make a memorial donation, make it to the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home which provided care for both Nanee and her family that made Nanee’s journey Home a beautiful one. A memorial service will be held Monday, July 23rd at 4pm with visitation to follow from 5pm – 7pm with a location TBD. Burial will be at Rose Hills Mortuary in Whittier, California with her husband and children. The staff at Gary Deiters Funeral Home & Cremation Services, is assisting the family with arrangements.